(NC)—We are in the information age dominated by an on-demand knowledge society. Canada is one of the most connected countries in the world and the Internet has become so central to our lives that many people can't do their work or stay in touch without it.
In short, today's world demands high-speed Internet access.
And the demand for speed is growing as the Internet becomes an essential part of modern life and new bandwidth-hungry services, applications and devices are rolled out.
But what if you're among the more than 7.5 million Canadians in rural and remote communities who don't have cable or DSL high-speed broadband access? Typically, these areas of the country have been underserved by the simple fact that the economics of a land-based system will never justify mass deployment.
Fortunately, there is a solution for many of these remote residents – a high-speed satellite Internet service offered by Bell ExpressVu's DirecPC. Essentially, the system uses the same Bell ExpressVu satellite dish as the Bell ExpressVu TV service, but works independently from the satellite receiver to deliver data to your computer.
How fast is satellite Internet? DirecPC features download speeds of up to 400 kbps - that's up to seven times faster than a traditional 56k modem.
In every day terms, that means users can download a 4MB audio file in 60-70 seconds compared with over 19 minutes using a 56K modem. Or download a 1MB video file in a little over 16 seconds compared with almost 5 minutes using a 56K modem.
It's a broadband Internet access service that is always on and is available to anyone, anywhere in Canada with a phone line and a local Internet Service Provider.
Increasingly, high-speed Internet is becoming a must-have service. According to Canada's National Broadband Task Force, the vast majority of Canadians are going to require high-speed Internet access to use new online services from governments and businesses that are increasingly placing information and products on secure Web sites. All aspects of our society are being altered by the availability of the Internet to the point that e-business and e-learning are seen by many as crucial to the development of our economy.
Without high-speed access, the benefits of these new services are generally restricted to Canadians living in the largest urban areas of the country. DirecPC satellite, however, levels the playing field for those living in remote or rural areas.
DirecPC is available from Bell ExpressVu dealers throughout Canada or by contacting Bell ExpressVu at 1-888-DirecPC (347-3272) or direcpcinfo@expressvu.com. For more information, please visit www.bell.ca/direcpc.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
What Stands Behind The Software Description?
With thousands of web pages added to the Net every day, it's getting more and more frustrating both to submit the information to the attention of those, who are interested in it and to find the information one needs.
The problem is even aggravated with the fact that customers become more exigent to the products they are offered. When it comes to the issue of software development and B2B solutions, they can't be considered ignorant any more. Customers are backed up by the basic knowledge of programming tools and their "should-have" functionality.
The recent online surveys show that customers are not attracted by price or discounts. Below you can see the enumeration of the factors influencing customers' decision on web application purchasing by their measure of significance:
1. Technical performance
2. Brand
3. Reliable customer support
4. Price
Let's go deeper into the nature of every factor.
Technical performance factor. Today it is not enough to say, that your PHP+MySQL solution has "a complete list of features" or "can be integrated into any web site". People, who are interested in the given products, are aware of the fact that the difficulty of implementing the principles of data integrity in MySQL and PHP depends in large degree on how many tables and relationships the database has. Most of scripts offered on the Web for online dealership constructing do have the problem of server slowing down by traffic or large database of listings or users:
"I came to Esvon with a sluggish, text based dating site that was slowly running into the ground. Esvon has taken my site and has developed a fast, robust, and exciting medium for my customers. From the lightning speed of front end programming in PHP to the powerful backend database in MySQL, the site is now one of the most advanced dating sites available."
Brand factor. As practically everything in software development science, there are a small number of ways to develop it right, and almost an infinite number of ways to develop it wrong. Still, Esvon guys have come to the profession of software development deliberately: they like to create things from pure thought, things that give life to machines and that matter to many businesses. Those, who are guided by brand images, sometimes risk being trapped: since brand awareness very often compensates the poor functionality of the software. And vice versa: the brand, which is not well known yet, generates the solutions, which well worth paying money for:
"Esvon Classifieds is built with performance in mind: I should stress its highly optimized database and PHP code, as little SQL queries as possible, ability to generate static HTML content to allow large databases and high visitors traffic handling, search engine friendliness, adaptability of the system and other beneficial features. I would underline its scalability, real-time configured custom database fields (text boxes, menus, checkboxes, unlimited images, files to upload, etc.), ability to generate HTML pages from databases, user authentication and paid membership support. It does distinguish from other existing solutions."
Reliable customer support factor. Software can be simple, it can be complicated, it might be easy-to-install, it might be user-friendly, it might require no programming skills, etc. But it is nothing without timely and helpful support. Customers do pay attention to this aspect: they study the Support Policy, require toll-free numbers, ask dozens of questions to be sure they can rely on the proper support after the product installation. But, unfortunately, customers often bump into the problems, when they do need manufacturer's help and don't receive it. I won't go deep into the reasons of it. But those manufacturers, who are not interested in short-term financial success, but strive for long-term cooperation, can't afford such approach:
"I wanted to migrate from my existing script to Esvon Classifieds. I wanted Esvon to handle data conversion from my database to the needed format. Why? Coz I was tired of constant complaints from my customers, as for slow loading pages, constant database errors, etc. I should say, Esvon was very responsive in work, patient in support, and reasonable in price, and I would definitely recommend Esvon's products to everyone who has the desire to have a successful website."
Price factor. If you are not guided by price factor while choosing the software, you are doing well. Our customers claim that they do not want to buy a pig in a poke, even if it is twice cheaper than other similar "pokes". There is no universal formula of defining good classified ads software at first sight. One should dig into the description of the program, view the demo version and screenshots, and discuss it with the manufacturer. But, unfortunately, it is sometimes insufficient as well.
To make the conclusion, I want to underline, that price, as many people think, is not a No. 1 driving force in a customer' decision-making engine. The best guidelines for selecting good classified ads software are its highly optimized database and PHP code, ability to generate static HTML content and adaptability of the system.
I hope the foregoing information will contribute to your successful choice. Be reasonable and you will be all set!
The problem is even aggravated with the fact that customers become more exigent to the products they are offered. When it comes to the issue of software development and B2B solutions, they can't be considered ignorant any more. Customers are backed up by the basic knowledge of programming tools and their "should-have" functionality.
The recent online surveys show that customers are not attracted by price or discounts. Below you can see the enumeration of the factors influencing customers' decision on web application purchasing by their measure of significance:
1. Technical performance
2. Brand
3. Reliable customer support
4. Price
Let's go deeper into the nature of every factor.
Technical performance factor. Today it is not enough to say, that your PHP+MySQL solution has "a complete list of features" or "can be integrated into any web site". People, who are interested in the given products, are aware of the fact that the difficulty of implementing the principles of data integrity in MySQL and PHP depends in large degree on how many tables and relationships the database has. Most of scripts offered on the Web for online dealership constructing do have the problem of server slowing down by traffic or large database of listings or users:
"I came to Esvon with a sluggish, text based dating site that was slowly running into the ground. Esvon has taken my site and has developed a fast, robust, and exciting medium for my customers. From the lightning speed of front end programming in PHP to the powerful backend database in MySQL, the site is now one of the most advanced dating sites available."
Brand factor. As practically everything in software development science, there are a small number of ways to develop it right, and almost an infinite number of ways to develop it wrong. Still, Esvon guys have come to the profession of software development deliberately: they like to create things from pure thought, things that give life to machines and that matter to many businesses. Those, who are guided by brand images, sometimes risk being trapped: since brand awareness very often compensates the poor functionality of the software. And vice versa: the brand, which is not well known yet, generates the solutions, which well worth paying money for:
"Esvon Classifieds is built with performance in mind: I should stress its highly optimized database and PHP code, as little SQL queries as possible, ability to generate static HTML content to allow large databases and high visitors traffic handling, search engine friendliness, adaptability of the system and other beneficial features. I would underline its scalability, real-time configured custom database fields (text boxes, menus, checkboxes, unlimited images, files to upload, etc.), ability to generate HTML pages from databases, user authentication and paid membership support. It does distinguish from other existing solutions."
Reliable customer support factor. Software can be simple, it can be complicated, it might be easy-to-install, it might be user-friendly, it might require no programming skills, etc. But it is nothing without timely and helpful support. Customers do pay attention to this aspect: they study the Support Policy, require toll-free numbers, ask dozens of questions to be sure they can rely on the proper support after the product installation. But, unfortunately, customers often bump into the problems, when they do need manufacturer's help and don't receive it. I won't go deep into the reasons of it. But those manufacturers, who are not interested in short-term financial success, but strive for long-term cooperation, can't afford such approach:
"I wanted to migrate from my existing script to Esvon Classifieds. I wanted Esvon to handle data conversion from my database to the needed format. Why? Coz I was tired of constant complaints from my customers, as for slow loading pages, constant database errors, etc. I should say, Esvon was very responsive in work, patient in support, and reasonable in price, and I would definitely recommend Esvon's products to everyone who has the desire to have a successful website."
Price factor. If you are not guided by price factor while choosing the software, you are doing well. Our customers claim that they do not want to buy a pig in a poke, even if it is twice cheaper than other similar "pokes". There is no universal formula of defining good classified ads software at first sight. One should dig into the description of the program, view the demo version and screenshots, and discuss it with the manufacturer. But, unfortunately, it is sometimes insufficient as well.
To make the conclusion, I want to underline, that price, as many people think, is not a No. 1 driving force in a customer' decision-making engine. The best guidelines for selecting good classified ads software are its highly optimized database and PHP code, ability to generate static HTML content and adaptability of the system.
I hope the foregoing information will contribute to your successful choice. Be reasonable and you will be all set!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Keyword Ownership: What It Is And Where It's Headed
Have you ever got one of those silly emails that offers to let you own a keyword? Silly question. How many such emails do you get every day?
A number of such services regularly email me offering keyword ownership of premium keywords for $300/year. They say that anyone can type the keyword I bought in the address bar of Internet explorer, instead of typing in a URL, and they will be sent directly to my site. In total it seems that there are about 2% of Internet users worldwide who have enabled one type or another of this system, spread out between a few competitive services.
Data shows that between 4% and 7% of search queries are performed by entering something in the address bar. By default for IE users, these searches are automatically routed through to MSN search. Many of us however have installed so much software over time, and unknowingly, some of this software has re-routed these search queries to other search portals, such as iGetNet, or others. This often happens if you've installed any file sharing software. We have all heard / read about how many extra 'features' come with programs like Kazaa. This means that your default search from the address bar may no longer be MSN, and may have been rerouted elsewhere, but the basic principle still applies. Of the queries that are actually run from an address bar, at least half of them are unintentionally instigated by people mistyping the desired URL. This means that between 2% and 4% of Internet users actually search via their address bar.
So how exactly do these address bars work? There are many of these companies offering this kind of service, with each one of them selling the very same keywords to different and sometimes competing companies. To make things worse, the keywords you might buy will only work with the issuing companys proprietary address bar plug-in. Then, to actually offer search capabilities from the address bar, each of these service providers needs to get individual Internet users to download and install their plug-in, and remember to run searches from the address bar.
How effective can a marketing strategy of this nature be when the various tools are not interchangeable, there are numerous competitors selling the same key words to different companies, and you are targeting only a small fraction of Internet users? If your ad is being displayed because its similar to the search query, are you paying for irrelevant results? This can happen; If there is not a perfect match to a search query, the next closest match may be displayed.
Competing with these companies is any search engine that offers its own toolbar. You can download a toolbar from any number of engines, and run searches on any key word or phrase quickly and easily. You then get the search engines selection of closest matches, from all the web sites they have indexed. They offer more than just one choice, and dont cost anything
Who Started This?
Started in 1998, Realnames was the first company that tied searching via the address bar to a web browser. At the time, it was touted as a value added solution for businesses around the world who were attempting to get their products found quickly, but didn't want customers to have to wade through a sea of Web addresses to reach their destination.
In part, it was deemed necessary because so few web site operators were search engine savvy, and fewer still knew anything about search engine optimization and promotion. What the Realnames solution did was allow a web site operator to buy a keyword, and then when any user of Internet Explorer would type that keyword into the IE address toolbar, they would get directed to the web site that owned the keyword.
The company hoped to profit from businesses which wanted to reach Internet users who would type keywords into their browsers address bar instead of remembering the url, or going through a standard search interface.
Unfortunately for the company, the service was entirely dependent on Microsoft; and when Microsoft stopped supporting the technology in May 2002, the company was forced to close. The reason it was so totally dependent was simple; Unlike the new companies on the market today, Realnames did not depend on an end user downloading and installing a plugin, instead it was essentially integrated into Internet Explorer by Microsoft. Therefore everyone who used IE automatically had the plugin.
The Legal Question
Each of the companies offering these services has a policy designed to ensure that a web site only buys keywords related to their content, and their review process is designed to keep cybersquatters from hijacking popular names and products. Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee that any one of these keyword ownership services adheres to any naming standard, or even ensures that any purchaser has the legal right to any of the terms they are buying. This means that the rights to copyrighted material like "Pepsi" or generic words like "business" could end up in the hands of the first buyer. While Pepsi is a well known brand name, there are millions of copyrighted and trademark protected terms, covered in multiple jurisdictions. It would not be cost effective or practical for these services to police copyright and trademark infringement.
In the summer of 1999, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, denied Playboy's request for an injunction barring a search engine from selling advertising based on the terms playboyand playmate. In the precedent setting ruling regarding keyword advertising, Judge Stotler of the United States District Court in Santa, Ana, California, dismissed a lawsuit brought by Playboy Enterprises against the search engine Excite, Inc. and Netscape. The ruling limited the online rights of trademark holders, as it recognized that a trademark may be used without authorization by search engines in advertising sales practices.
Playboy claimed that the search engines were displaying paid banner ads from pornographic web sites whenever "playboy" or "playmate" were used as a search term. As the owner of the trademarks for both terms, Playboy argued that the use of its trademarks for a third party sales scheme was trademark infringement and branding dilution.
In the ruling dismissing Playboy's case, the Judge found that Excite had not used the trademarks "playboy" and "playmate" in an unlawful manner. This was because Excite had not used the trademarked words to identify Excites own goods or services and therefore trademark infringement laws did not apply. It was further determined that even if there was trademark usage, there was no infringement because there was no evidence that consumers confused Playboy products with the services of Excite or Netscape.
What about within Meta Tags?
Is it illegal to use trademarked terms in your meta tags? Sometimes. The problem occurs with how and why you are using the terms. Web sites that use the tags in a deceptive manner have lost legal battles. However, legitimate reasons to use the terms have resulted in successful defenses.
In a case involving Playboy, the firm was able to prove trademark infringement, based on use of their trademark in meta tags, url and content on the web site. The case was filed by the firm against web site operators for stuffing their web pages with the words Playboyand Playmatehundreds of times. Furthermore, the defendants were also using the terms Playboy and Playmate in the site names, URLs, and slogans. In this case the Judge ruled for Playboy, as there was a clear case of trademark infringement.
In the separate case, Playboy vs. Terri Welles, the court refused Playboy's request. The reason was simple. Terri Welles was Playboy's 1981 Playmate of the Year. She had used the terms "Playmate" and "Playboy" on her web pages and within her meta tags, and the Court felt she had a legitimate right to use them to accurately describe herself, and to ensure that the search engines could catalog her web site properly within their databases. Playboy's appeal was dismissed on Feb. 1, 2002.
In Summary
It is clear that if you have a legitimate reason to use a trademarked word or phrase in your web site you can. You may also rent their ownership from one of the keyword ownership companies. Be careful, though, it is possible that may get sued.
Does the technology work? Yes, but only for some of the approximately 3% of Internet users worldwide who have installed any one of a variety of competing plugins that enable this type of searching. I stress a fraction of the 3%, as you would need to buy the keywords from each individual vendor to ensure reaching all 2%.
A number of such services regularly email me offering keyword ownership of premium keywords for $300/year. They say that anyone can type the keyword I bought in the address bar of Internet explorer, instead of typing in a URL, and they will be sent directly to my site. In total it seems that there are about 2% of Internet users worldwide who have enabled one type or another of this system, spread out between a few competitive services.
Data shows that between 4% and 7% of search queries are performed by entering something in the address bar. By default for IE users, these searches are automatically routed through to MSN search. Many of us however have installed so much software over time, and unknowingly, some of this software has re-routed these search queries to other search portals, such as iGetNet, or others. This often happens if you've installed any file sharing software. We have all heard / read about how many extra 'features' come with programs like Kazaa. This means that your default search from the address bar may no longer be MSN, and may have been rerouted elsewhere, but the basic principle still applies. Of the queries that are actually run from an address bar, at least half of them are unintentionally instigated by people mistyping the desired URL. This means that between 2% and 4% of Internet users actually search via their address bar.
So how exactly do these address bars work? There are many of these companies offering this kind of service, with each one of them selling the very same keywords to different and sometimes competing companies. To make things worse, the keywords you might buy will only work with the issuing companys proprietary address bar plug-in. Then, to actually offer search capabilities from the address bar, each of these service providers needs to get individual Internet users to download and install their plug-in, and remember to run searches from the address bar.
How effective can a marketing strategy of this nature be when the various tools are not interchangeable, there are numerous competitors selling the same key words to different companies, and you are targeting only a small fraction of Internet users? If your ad is being displayed because its similar to the search query, are you paying for irrelevant results? This can happen; If there is not a perfect match to a search query, the next closest match may be displayed.
Competing with these companies is any search engine that offers its own toolbar. You can download a toolbar from any number of engines, and run searches on any key word or phrase quickly and easily. You then get the search engines selection of closest matches, from all the web sites they have indexed. They offer more than just one choice, and dont cost anything
Who Started This?
Started in 1998, Realnames was the first company that tied searching via the address bar to a web browser. At the time, it was touted as a value added solution for businesses around the world who were attempting to get their products found quickly, but didn't want customers to have to wade through a sea of Web addresses to reach their destination.
In part, it was deemed necessary because so few web site operators were search engine savvy, and fewer still knew anything about search engine optimization and promotion. What the Realnames solution did was allow a web site operator to buy a keyword, and then when any user of Internet Explorer would type that keyword into the IE address toolbar, they would get directed to the web site that owned the keyword.
The company hoped to profit from businesses which wanted to reach Internet users who would type keywords into their browsers address bar instead of remembering the url, or going through a standard search interface.
Unfortunately for the company, the service was entirely dependent on Microsoft; and when Microsoft stopped supporting the technology in May 2002, the company was forced to close. The reason it was so totally dependent was simple; Unlike the new companies on the market today, Realnames did not depend on an end user downloading and installing a plugin, instead it was essentially integrated into Internet Explorer by Microsoft. Therefore everyone who used IE automatically had the plugin.
The Legal Question
Each of the companies offering these services has a policy designed to ensure that a web site only buys keywords related to their content, and their review process is designed to keep cybersquatters from hijacking popular names and products. Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee that any one of these keyword ownership services adheres to any naming standard, or even ensures that any purchaser has the legal right to any of the terms they are buying. This means that the rights to copyrighted material like "Pepsi" or generic words like "business" could end up in the hands of the first buyer. While Pepsi is a well known brand name, there are millions of copyrighted and trademark protected terms, covered in multiple jurisdictions. It would not be cost effective or practical for these services to police copyright and trademark infringement.
In the summer of 1999, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, denied Playboy's request for an injunction barring a search engine from selling advertising based on the terms playboyand playmate. In the precedent setting ruling regarding keyword advertising, Judge Stotler of the United States District Court in Santa, Ana, California, dismissed a lawsuit brought by Playboy Enterprises against the search engine Excite, Inc. and Netscape. The ruling limited the online rights of trademark holders, as it recognized that a trademark may be used without authorization by search engines in advertising sales practices.
Playboy claimed that the search engines were displaying paid banner ads from pornographic web sites whenever "playboy" or "playmate" were used as a search term. As the owner of the trademarks for both terms, Playboy argued that the use of its trademarks for a third party sales scheme was trademark infringement and branding dilution.
In the ruling dismissing Playboy's case, the Judge found that Excite had not used the trademarks "playboy" and "playmate" in an unlawful manner. This was because Excite had not used the trademarked words to identify Excites own goods or services and therefore trademark infringement laws did not apply. It was further determined that even if there was trademark usage, there was no infringement because there was no evidence that consumers confused Playboy products with the services of Excite or Netscape.
What about within Meta Tags?
Is it illegal to use trademarked terms in your meta tags? Sometimes. The problem occurs with how and why you are using the terms. Web sites that use the tags in a deceptive manner have lost legal battles. However, legitimate reasons to use the terms have resulted in successful defenses.
In a case involving Playboy, the firm was able to prove trademark infringement, based on use of their trademark in meta tags, url and content on the web site. The case was filed by the firm against web site operators for stuffing their web pages with the words Playboyand Playmatehundreds of times. Furthermore, the defendants were also using the terms Playboy and Playmate in the site names, URLs, and slogans. In this case the Judge ruled for Playboy, as there was a clear case of trademark infringement.
In the separate case, Playboy vs. Terri Welles, the court refused Playboy's request. The reason was simple. Terri Welles was Playboy's 1981 Playmate of the Year. She had used the terms "Playmate" and "Playboy" on her web pages and within her meta tags, and the Court felt she had a legitimate right to use them to accurately describe herself, and to ensure that the search engines could catalog her web site properly within their databases. Playboy's appeal was dismissed on Feb. 1, 2002.
In Summary
It is clear that if you have a legitimate reason to use a trademarked word or phrase in your web site you can. You may also rent their ownership from one of the keyword ownership companies. Be careful, though, it is possible that may get sued.
Does the technology work? Yes, but only for some of the approximately 3% of Internet users worldwide who have installed any one of a variety of competing plugins that enable this type of searching. I stress a fraction of the 3%, as you would need to buy the keywords from each individual vendor to ensure reaching all 2%.
Monday, August 21, 2006
MSN & Yahoo Communities (The Basics)
I'm sure at one time or another, we've all explored either an msn or yahoo community or both. Communities are a FREE service that allows us to build and manage, discussion groups,family sites, business communities etc.
These communities can be a powerful tool to promote your business only if you know how to use them effectively.
There are 100's of very popular communities that allow anyone to post as many "Classified Ads" as possible. Unless you to spend hours doing this, I suggest you leave if be for the time being.
What I'd like to focus more on is "WHY" you should create your own msn & yahoo community for yourself!
See, many of the best search engines will pick up your community because of the sheer size and popularity of msn & yahoo.
Also, I see many marketers waisting a lot of time because they are trying to promote too many services or opportunities at one time. A community will allow you to add ALL that you promote into one site and then all you have to worry about is promoting that one site!
This won't happen over night and learning how to easy it is to build & manage your own community will be posted in the next issue #2.
Before we get into that, you'll want to join the "Top Rated" communities in the business sections. Doing this will allow you to familiarize yourself with what's "the norm" with these communities. Also, after you've made the necessary adjustments and you've prepared your own community, you'll be using all the top communities to promote your own.
I must appoligize to those who have never joined and msn or yahoo community. You'll need to sign up for a user passport which is simply an msn or yahoo e-mail and password.
For an msn passport click below: http://register.passport.net/default.srf?sl=1
For a yahoo passport click below: http://edit.yahoo.com/config/eval_register?.intl=us&new=1&.done=http%3a//www.yahoo.com&.src=www&.v=0&.u=0f49rckvhg06m&partner=&.p=&promo=&.last=
When signing up for an msn community, you'll want to click the option "READ ALL MESSAGES ONLINE". This way you won't fill your e-mail account with countless messages that are posted everyday... Also, click on "KEEP MY E-MAIL PRIVATE" so that you don't get any junk this way either.
And now you have the basics of communities, please look for the sequel to this article titled:
"Building & Managing your own community"
These communities can be a powerful tool to promote your business only if you know how to use them effectively.
There are 100's of very popular communities that allow anyone to post as many "Classified Ads" as possible. Unless you to spend hours doing this, I suggest you leave if be for the time being.
What I'd like to focus more on is "WHY" you should create your own msn & yahoo community for yourself!
See, many of the best search engines will pick up your community because of the sheer size and popularity of msn & yahoo.
Also, I see many marketers waisting a lot of time because they are trying to promote too many services or opportunities at one time. A community will allow you to add ALL that you promote into one site and then all you have to worry about is promoting that one site!
This won't happen over night and learning how to easy it is to build & manage your own community will be posted in the next issue #2.
Before we get into that, you'll want to join the "Top Rated" communities in the business sections. Doing this will allow you to familiarize yourself with what's "the norm" with these communities. Also, after you've made the necessary adjustments and you've prepared your own community, you'll be using all the top communities to promote your own.
I must appoligize to those who have never joined and msn or yahoo community. You'll need to sign up for a user passport which is simply an msn or yahoo e-mail and password.
For an msn passport click below: http://register.passport.net/default.srf?sl=1
For a yahoo passport click below: http://edit.yahoo.com/config/eval_register?.intl=us&new=1&.done=http%3a//www.yahoo.com&.src=www&.v=0&.u=0f49rckvhg06m&partner=&.p=&promo=&.last=
When signing up for an msn community, you'll want to click the option "READ ALL MESSAGES ONLINE". This way you won't fill your e-mail account with countless messages that are posted everyday... Also, click on "KEEP MY E-MAIL PRIVATE" so that you don't get any junk this way either.
And now you have the basics of communities, please look for the sequel to this article titled:
"Building & Managing your own community"
Friday, August 18, 2006
Kick-Starting E-mail Profits Growth From One Single Shot!
Perhaps the most critical step in guaranteeing the success of your e-mail promotions is to send your messages to a targeted list of opt-in subscribers who have specifically requested to receive information on a particular topic from you. That's your "in-house" email list.
Sooner or later, you'll face the same challenge: how to build a list of qualified, targeted prospects from scratch.
When it comes to building an e-mail list, online marketers tend to spread on too many options. Offen, they neglect to focus on a single promotion 'til the end and exploit to the fullest potential. Here's an example.
Suppose you run a newsletter and have a web page or popup window which invite prospects to subscribe. As a reward for giving their e-mail address, you offer them a bonus.
That's fine -- but not enought! You are loosing money simply by leaving empty profit places in your message.
Wouldn't be nice to build actually 3 different mailing lists from one "stroke"? Of course! For better understanding, I'll stick with the same newsletter example. So, clear-up your newsletter invitation and insert couple of extra carefully selected phrases. Follow these steps:
Step #1 --> Insert a Newsletter Subscription
Obviously, this is your primer objective. A new subscriber is a potential new source of profit. It is a common sense to tell people what to expect up front. The more relevant seems your offer to the desired relationship, the better.
Step #2 --> Insert a Special Report
Be smart: upload your report to an autoresponder. The trick is to provide high-quality content AND an offer that will earn you a profit!
You know the rest: the autoresponder send out automatically additional reports and follow-up messages to those who get the initial report. The results: more sales and profits.
Step #3 --> Insert an eCourse
Each lesson of the eCourse provides at least one offer (and usually multiple offers) for the reader to consider. Many buy, some don't. But it's another automated profit system.
Step #4 --> Insert a Mystery Bonus
Mystery bonus? Yes! People universally love mystery. Be sure you won't let the prospects know what is all about up until they subscribe.
What you need at this point: an ebook that is coded with your own affiliate links! (Psst... invite them to pass it out as an incentive!)
The final results: 3 separate lists (from newsletter subscription, special report, and ecourse) and a viral marketing tool (the mystery ebook)! Everything easy to set- up and ready to upload to your web site in less than an hour of work. Not bad!
Things to remember BEFORE you implement this e-mail marketing strategy:
* be accurate and clear with your messages.
* spell out features/benefits/advantages in your offer.
* don't go only after e-mail list quantity. Your e-mail list should balance QUALITY with QUANTITY issues.
* ALWAYS provide high-quality content.
* implement your system ON EVERY PAGE of your web site.
* always use professional sequential autoresponders to PERSONALIZE each of your e-mail messages.
* test subject lines and messages until you get the highest results.
* check your messages to make sure links work properly.
* use high quality graphics to first-impress.
* NEVER forget to 'THANK YOU' prospects once they give you their e-mail address.
* ALWAYS allow prospects to self-remove from your e-mail lists.
**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**
Feel free to reprint this article is its entirety in your ezine or website as long as you leave all links in place, do not alterate the content and include our resource box as listed below. If you do use the material please send us a note so we can take a look. Thanks.
Sooner or later, you'll face the same challenge: how to build a list of qualified, targeted prospects from scratch.
When it comes to building an e-mail list, online marketers tend to spread on too many options. Offen, they neglect to focus on a single promotion 'til the end and exploit to the fullest potential. Here's an example.
Suppose you run a newsletter and have a web page or popup window which invite prospects to subscribe. As a reward for giving their e-mail address, you offer them a bonus.
That's fine -- but not enought! You are loosing money simply by leaving empty profit places in your message.
Wouldn't be nice to build actually 3 different mailing lists from one "stroke"? Of course! For better understanding, I'll stick with the same newsletter example. So, clear-up your newsletter invitation and insert couple of extra carefully selected phrases. Follow these steps:
Step #1 --> Insert a Newsletter Subscription
Obviously, this is your primer objective. A new subscriber is a potential new source of profit. It is a common sense to tell people what to expect up front. The more relevant seems your offer to the desired relationship, the better.
Step #2 --> Insert a Special Report
Be smart: upload your report to an autoresponder. The trick is to provide high-quality content AND an offer that will earn you a profit!
You know the rest: the autoresponder send out automatically additional reports and follow-up messages to those who get the initial report. The results: more sales and profits.
Step #3 --> Insert an eCourse
Each lesson of the eCourse provides at least one offer (and usually multiple offers) for the reader to consider. Many buy, some don't. But it's another automated profit system.
Step #4 --> Insert a Mystery Bonus
Mystery bonus? Yes! People universally love mystery. Be sure you won't let the prospects know what is all about up until they subscribe.
What you need at this point: an ebook that is coded with your own affiliate links! (Psst... invite them to pass it out as an incentive!)
The final results: 3 separate lists (from newsletter subscription, special report, and ecourse) and a viral marketing tool (the mystery ebook)! Everything easy to set- up and ready to upload to your web site in less than an hour of work. Not bad!
Things to remember BEFORE you implement this e-mail marketing strategy:
* be accurate and clear with your messages.
* spell out features/benefits/advantages in your offer.
* don't go only after e-mail list quantity. Your e-mail list should balance QUALITY with QUANTITY issues.
* ALWAYS provide high-quality content.
* implement your system ON EVERY PAGE of your web site.
* always use professional sequential autoresponders to PERSONALIZE each of your e-mail messages.
* test subject lines and messages until you get the highest results.
* check your messages to make sure links work properly.
* use high quality graphics to first-impress.
* NEVER forget to 'THANK YOU' prospects once they give you their e-mail address.
* ALWAYS allow prospects to self-remove from your e-mail lists.
**Attn Ezine editors/Site owners**
Feel free to reprint this article is its entirety in your ezine or website as long as you leave all links in place, do not alterate the content and include our resource box as listed below. If you do use the material please send us a note so we can take a look. Thanks.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
The Hard Disk
The Hard Disk Guide ;
From throwing our unnecessary files, to defragmenting, from partitions to formats-learn how to keep your hard disk in top shape
The hard disk is the place where all your programs and data are stored. If the hard disk Stops working you could end up losing all your data. What we’ll do here is take you on. A quick tour of the different things you need to know about it, so you can keep it working smoothly.
What is the hard disk?
The hard disk is a magnetic mass storage device installed in special bays within the system unit. The hard disk could do compared to a large cupboard having several shelves
With different items being neatly arranged and stored on each self. The hard disk stored all the data you need to store on your PC-the operating system (for example, Windows),
Software program (for example an office suit), business or household applications and data, games, e-mail message, address books and so on.
A hard disk off the assembly line is just a mass of magnetic media. The magnetic surface of the hard disk has to be structured into specific areas where data can be stored properly, a process known as formatting. When you buy a new computer, the system comes with a formatted hard disk.
A hard disk needs to be divided into partitions before it can be used. The hard disk on a newly purchased computer comes configured with a single large partitions, the primary partition (C: in My Computer) and an extended partition, which may be further subdivided into logical partitions (D: E: and so on in My Computer) if required. Partitioning makes the storage of data more efficient and reduces the access time to retrieve data.
The storage capacity of hard disk has increased by leaps and bounds since IBM XT’s first 10 MB hard disk. Nowadays, 10GB is the entry level and 17 GB is common. The hard disk communicates with a PC’s motherboard through an expansion card or a disk interface card.
How does it wok?
The disk is formatted to divide its magnetic surface into concentric circular paths called tracks (these are like the grooves on a phonograph record) and wedge-shaped slices called sectors. Data is stored in the form of a file or groups of disk sector called clusters. A disk drive locates data by moving its magnetic read-write head to specific track within a specific sector.
When a new file is created in a freshly formatted hard disk, it is assigned cluster numbers in a sequential order. If the file is expanded, then the first available clusters are assigned. When file is deleted, their cluster numbers are simply marked as available. Over course of time, when files grow in size to require additional cluster or are deleted, the perfectly ordered sequence of clusters gets disturbed, a process known as fragmentation.
Partitioning the hard disk
Partitioning divides a large hard disk into smaller virtual-not physical-hard disk or partitions, leading to an efficient utilization of space and boosting your PC’s performance. Partitioning could be very useful in following circumstances:
1-One PC, several users-If several persons have to work on the same PC, partitions could be assigned for each of them so that each person has his or her own “working space.” This could be useful in home setting too, where you could have separate partitions for your spouse, children’s games, business applications and data and so on.
2-Work on multiple operating systems-You may want to work on more than one operating system on your PC, for example Win98, Linux and Windows95. (Maybe you have applications that work perfectly in Win95 but suddenly crashed in Win98). You can keep these various operating systems safely on the same hard disk by installing them in separate partitions.
Partitioning Tools There’re several partitioning tools available for your hard drive. Two of the most popular ones are:
1-PartitionMagic Version 4.o for Windows95 and 98-Partition Magic, from Power Quest is a useful and powerful partitioning program. It effortlessly creates, moves, converts and resizes partitions on your hard disk without the necessity of reformatting the disk of erasing valuable data.
2-FDISK- is a freely available partitioning utility that runs in the DOS environment. Its greatest UPS is that it is available for free. It is cumbersome to use and also requires formatting of the hard disk (perhaps its biggest drawback).
Formatting a hard disk
As with most mechanical devices, prolonged use of the hard disk results in inevitable wear and tear and malfunction. Repeated adding and deleting of files takes its toll on the hard disk and you may get disk error, including the notorious “fatal error” of Windows. This is an indication that you may need to re-format your hard disk to have it working properly again.
However, before deciding to re-format the disk it may be worthwhile to try out other alternative-
1-Run Disk Defragmenter
2-Use a cleanup shareware programs such asregclean.exe, available for download.
However, if after trying out these alternatives, you continue to get fatal error message, then you probably need to format your hard disk.
The procedure of formatting is simple enough but has to be done carefully. When you format the hard disk, all the data on the disk is lost-Windows operating system, software programs, business applications data, games, e-mails messages. In short everything.
How to do the formatting
Windows 95
1- Double-click on My Computer icon. Then click the icon for the drive you want to format. (e. g. C:)
2- On the File menu, click Format and follow the instructions.
Remember that you can not format a disk if there are files open on that disk. If the disk has been compressed, use Drivespace or other compression to format the disk.
Windows 98
1- Click Start, click Shutdown, click Restart, and then click on OK.
2- Press and hold the CTRL key until the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu appears.
3- Select Command prompt only and press Enter.
4- At the C:\prompt, type format C: and press ENTER.
5- Follow the instruction on the screen.
After formatting you’re left with a blank hard disk with more space then before. The next step is to restore the programs you need on your disk.
1- First reinstall Windows and then application programs you use.
2- Restore your backups into appropriate files. If you use a Zip drive or a CD-writer, these need to be installed first.
3- Reinstall all drivers for the printer, modem or other peripherals.
Do the defrag
A file on your disk may not be stored all in one place or cluster. For example, if you create a Word document and make changes to it at a later date, the change may get saved in a different cluster from the original file. The more often you make changes to a file, the more disorganized the cluster becomes, and the disk becomes fragmented. This makes the magnetic head that reads and writes data to and from the disk, works harder to retrieve the entire file. Fragmentation of hard drive reduces the storage efficiency and then access time for retrieving information.
The process of defragging helps to rearrange the files and unused space on your hard disk so that programs run faster.
Before Defragging, it may be a good idea to check how much of your hard drive is fragmented. You can do this by running ScanDisk. Empty the temp folders and Recycle Bin before defragging.
Windows 95 and Windows 98-: Open the Start Menu, choose Programs, choose Accessories, and choose System Tools and click on Disk Defragmenter.
You defragging schedule will depend on how much you use the PC. A good rule of the thumb is to defrag every two weeks.
Make sure all your files are closed and then you have turned of the screensaver also.
Spring Cleaning
No more hard disk space left? Getting disk error or illegal operations? It may be time to clean up your hard disk. A few spring cleaning pointers to help you out.
1- Toss out unwanted applications-: check out all the software applications you have loaded on the PC. Delete the old applications if you have installed newer versions. Go to the Control Panel’s Add/Remove program option and uninstall those applications you don’t need.
2- Run ScanDisk-: the ScanDisk option in Windows is very useful application which fixes problem like lost clusters, invalid directory entries and physical disk errors. Run ScanDisk once a month.
Go to start, choose Programs, choose Accessories, and choose System Tools and click on ScanDisk. Click the drive that contains the folders and files you want to check.
3- Defrag often, once in two weeks.
4- Empty Recycle Bin-: Right-click on Recycle Bin icon on the Desktop and choose Empty Recycle Bin from the dropdown menu.
5- Clean out your folders-: do you really need all those download you had undertaken for a past research project or those games you seldom plays? Delete those folders that are not required.
6- Delete .tmp files and create more space on hard disk.
Close all programs. Go to Windows Explorer. Press the key to open find dialog box. Enter *.tmp in the box. Make sure that C: Drive is listed in the Look-in box. Include subfolders by checking them. When .tmp files appear, delete them.
7- Delete temporary Net files to create more space.
Go to the temp Internet Files folder in Windows Explorer. Delete all present files.
8- There are several Windows components on your hard disk that you could do without. You could remove these individual components from the Add/Remove Windows setup option and create more space on your disk
Some windows components that are not necessary are accessories such as Desktop Wallpapers (a saving of 700kB) and games (a saving of 600kB
Before you format…..
1- Enter the hard drive’s technical specifications (number of cylinders, tracks, sectors etc.) into the PC’s BIOS setup table so that it is available for the machine’s Startup program.
2- Backup all your important data onto another hard disk, recordable CDs, Zip Drive, magnetic tapes or floppies. If you have a sort of backup space or are in hurry, copy only important folders. Backup your e-mail and address books too. After taking the backups, check them out to make sure that they are okay.
3- Backup any folders that you share with others over a network.
4- Keep handy the installation disks or CDs of the application software you use, such as Windows or an office suite. These will have to be re-installed after formatting.
5- Keep handy the driver disks for your printer, sound card, CD ROM driver, modem or other devices. These will have to be re-installed after formatting.
FAT Facts
When a hard disk is formatted, a File Allocation Table (FAT) is created on the disk. FAT keeps a record of the locations of all the files on the disk FAT 16 is the file allocation system used in DOS and Windows 95. FAT 32 file system is used in Windows 98 or Win 95 OSR 2. FAT 32 is considered to be more efficient as it saves more space on the disk.
The performance of hard disk largely affects the overall performance of a PC. Hard disk performance factors include storage capacity, data access time (the time it takes for the read write heads to find a required position on the magnetic surface), data transfer time (measure how many million bit per second can be transferred from disk to RAM) and reliability.
TIP
Keep your hard disk in tip-top condition and optimize its performance.
1- Create separate folders for each business application, data or for each family member. This will keep your disk clean and organized.
2- Avoid the compression
Though file compression increases the amount of storage space, it also considerably slowdown system performance.
3- Keep 10% free. Always keep at least 10% of your hard disk free-filling it beyond 90% of its capacity will lead to system slowdown and potential loss of information.
4- Run the Maintenance Wizard utility of Windows 95 and 98. This utility make your programs run faster, checks your hard disk for problems and free hard disk space. You can schedule it to0 run on a regular basis at a specific time, for example once a week or other interval of your choice.
Start maintenance Wizard by clicking on Start, choose Programs, choose Accessories, choose system tools and click on Maintenance Wizard.
5- Use software package that help to optimize your hard disk’s performance, e.g. Symantec’s Norton Utilities.
From throwing our unnecessary files, to defragmenting, from partitions to formats-learn how to keep your hard disk in top shape
The hard disk is the place where all your programs and data are stored. If the hard disk Stops working you could end up losing all your data. What we’ll do here is take you on. A quick tour of the different things you need to know about it, so you can keep it working smoothly.
What is the hard disk?
The hard disk is a magnetic mass storage device installed in special bays within the system unit. The hard disk could do compared to a large cupboard having several shelves
With different items being neatly arranged and stored on each self. The hard disk stored all the data you need to store on your PC-the operating system (for example, Windows),
Software program (for example an office suit), business or household applications and data, games, e-mail message, address books and so on.
A hard disk off the assembly line is just a mass of magnetic media. The magnetic surface of the hard disk has to be structured into specific areas where data can be stored properly, a process known as formatting. When you buy a new computer, the system comes with a formatted hard disk.
A hard disk needs to be divided into partitions before it can be used. The hard disk on a newly purchased computer comes configured with a single large partitions, the primary partition (C: in My Computer) and an extended partition, which may be further subdivided into logical partitions (D: E: and so on in My Computer) if required. Partitioning makes the storage of data more efficient and reduces the access time to retrieve data.
The storage capacity of hard disk has increased by leaps and bounds since IBM XT’s first 10 MB hard disk. Nowadays, 10GB is the entry level and 17 GB is common. The hard disk communicates with a PC’s motherboard through an expansion card or a disk interface card.
How does it wok?
The disk is formatted to divide its magnetic surface into concentric circular paths called tracks (these are like the grooves on a phonograph record) and wedge-shaped slices called sectors. Data is stored in the form of a file or groups of disk sector called clusters. A disk drive locates data by moving its magnetic read-write head to specific track within a specific sector.
When a new file is created in a freshly formatted hard disk, it is assigned cluster numbers in a sequential order. If the file is expanded, then the first available clusters are assigned. When file is deleted, their cluster numbers are simply marked as available. Over course of time, when files grow in size to require additional cluster or are deleted, the perfectly ordered sequence of clusters gets disturbed, a process known as fragmentation.
Partitioning the hard disk
Partitioning divides a large hard disk into smaller virtual-not physical-hard disk or partitions, leading to an efficient utilization of space and boosting your PC’s performance. Partitioning could be very useful in following circumstances:
1-One PC, several users-If several persons have to work on the same PC, partitions could be assigned for each of them so that each person has his or her own “working space.” This could be useful in home setting too, where you could have separate partitions for your spouse, children’s games, business applications and data and so on.
2-Work on multiple operating systems-You may want to work on more than one operating system on your PC, for example Win98, Linux and Windows95. (Maybe you have applications that work perfectly in Win95 but suddenly crashed in Win98). You can keep these various operating systems safely on the same hard disk by installing them in separate partitions.
Partitioning Tools There’re several partitioning tools available for your hard drive. Two of the most popular ones are:
1-PartitionMagic Version 4.o for Windows95 and 98-Partition Magic, from Power Quest is a useful and powerful partitioning program. It effortlessly creates, moves, converts and resizes partitions on your hard disk without the necessity of reformatting the disk of erasing valuable data.
2-FDISK- is a freely available partitioning utility that runs in the DOS environment. Its greatest UPS is that it is available for free. It is cumbersome to use and also requires formatting of the hard disk (perhaps its biggest drawback).
Formatting a hard disk
As with most mechanical devices, prolonged use of the hard disk results in inevitable wear and tear and malfunction. Repeated adding and deleting of files takes its toll on the hard disk and you may get disk error, including the notorious “fatal error” of Windows. This is an indication that you may need to re-format your hard disk to have it working properly again.
However, before deciding to re-format the disk it may be worthwhile to try out other alternative-
1-Run Disk Defragmenter
2-Use a cleanup shareware programs such asregclean.exe, available for download.
However, if after trying out these alternatives, you continue to get fatal error message, then you probably need to format your hard disk.
The procedure of formatting is simple enough but has to be done carefully. When you format the hard disk, all the data on the disk is lost-Windows operating system, software programs, business applications data, games, e-mails messages. In short everything.
How to do the formatting
Windows 95
1- Double-click on My Computer icon. Then click the icon for the drive you want to format. (e. g. C:)
2- On the File menu, click Format and follow the instructions.
Remember that you can not format a disk if there are files open on that disk. If the disk has been compressed, use Drivespace or other compression to format the disk.
Windows 98
1- Click Start, click Shutdown, click Restart, and then click on OK.
2- Press and hold the CTRL key until the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu appears.
3- Select Command prompt only and press Enter.
4- At the C:\prompt, type format C: and press ENTER.
5- Follow the instruction on the screen.
After formatting you’re left with a blank hard disk with more space then before. The next step is to restore the programs you need on your disk.
1- First reinstall Windows and then application programs you use.
2- Restore your backups into appropriate files. If you use a Zip drive or a CD-writer, these need to be installed first.
3- Reinstall all drivers for the printer, modem or other peripherals.
Do the defrag
A file on your disk may not be stored all in one place or cluster. For example, if you create a Word document and make changes to it at a later date, the change may get saved in a different cluster from the original file. The more often you make changes to a file, the more disorganized the cluster becomes, and the disk becomes fragmented. This makes the magnetic head that reads and writes data to and from the disk, works harder to retrieve the entire file. Fragmentation of hard drive reduces the storage efficiency and then access time for retrieving information.
The process of defragging helps to rearrange the files and unused space on your hard disk so that programs run faster.
Before Defragging, it may be a good idea to check how much of your hard drive is fragmented. You can do this by running ScanDisk. Empty the temp folders and Recycle Bin before defragging.
Windows 95 and Windows 98-: Open the Start Menu, choose Programs, choose Accessories, and choose System Tools and click on Disk Defragmenter.
You defragging schedule will depend on how much you use the PC. A good rule of the thumb is to defrag every two weeks.
Make sure all your files are closed and then you have turned of the screensaver also.
Spring Cleaning
No more hard disk space left? Getting disk error or illegal operations? It may be time to clean up your hard disk. A few spring cleaning pointers to help you out.
1- Toss out unwanted applications-: check out all the software applications you have loaded on the PC. Delete the old applications if you have installed newer versions. Go to the Control Panel’s Add/Remove program option and uninstall those applications you don’t need.
2- Run ScanDisk-: the ScanDisk option in Windows is very useful application which fixes problem like lost clusters, invalid directory entries and physical disk errors. Run ScanDisk once a month.
Go to start, choose Programs, choose Accessories, and choose System Tools and click on ScanDisk. Click the drive that contains the folders and files you want to check.
3- Defrag often, once in two weeks.
4- Empty Recycle Bin-: Right-click on Recycle Bin icon on the Desktop and choose Empty Recycle Bin from the dropdown menu.
5- Clean out your folders-: do you really need all those download you had undertaken for a past research project or those games you seldom plays? Delete those folders that are not required.
6- Delete .tmp files and create more space on hard disk.
Close all programs. Go to Windows Explorer. Press the key to open find dialog box. Enter *.tmp in the box. Make sure that C: Drive is listed in the Look-in box. Include subfolders by checking them. When .tmp files appear, delete them.
7- Delete temporary Net files to create more space.
Go to the temp Internet Files folder in Windows Explorer. Delete all present files.
8- There are several Windows components on your hard disk that you could do without. You could remove these individual components from the Add/Remove Windows setup option and create more space on your disk
Some windows components that are not necessary are accessories such as Desktop Wallpapers (a saving of 700kB) and games (a saving of 600kB
Before you format…..
1- Enter the hard drive’s technical specifications (number of cylinders, tracks, sectors etc.) into the PC’s BIOS setup table so that it is available for the machine’s Startup program.
2- Backup all your important data onto another hard disk, recordable CDs, Zip Drive, magnetic tapes or floppies. If you have a sort of backup space or are in hurry, copy only important folders. Backup your e-mail and address books too. After taking the backups, check them out to make sure that they are okay.
3- Backup any folders that you share with others over a network.
4- Keep handy the installation disks or CDs of the application software you use, such as Windows or an office suite. These will have to be re-installed after formatting.
5- Keep handy the driver disks for your printer, sound card, CD ROM driver, modem or other devices. These will have to be re-installed after formatting.
FAT Facts
When a hard disk is formatted, a File Allocation Table (FAT) is created on the disk. FAT keeps a record of the locations of all the files on the disk FAT 16 is the file allocation system used in DOS and Windows 95. FAT 32 file system is used in Windows 98 or Win 95 OSR 2. FAT 32 is considered to be more efficient as it saves more space on the disk.
The performance of hard disk largely affects the overall performance of a PC. Hard disk performance factors include storage capacity, data access time (the time it takes for the read write heads to find a required position on the magnetic surface), data transfer time (measure how many million bit per second can be transferred from disk to RAM) and reliability.
TIP
Keep your hard disk in tip-top condition and optimize its performance.
1- Create separate folders for each business application, data or for each family member. This will keep your disk clean and organized.
2- Avoid the compression
Though file compression increases the amount of storage space, it also considerably slowdown system performance.
3- Keep 10% free. Always keep at least 10% of your hard disk free-filling it beyond 90% of its capacity will lead to system slowdown and potential loss of information.
4- Run the Maintenance Wizard utility of Windows 95 and 98. This utility make your programs run faster, checks your hard disk for problems and free hard disk space. You can schedule it to0 run on a regular basis at a specific time, for example once a week or other interval of your choice.
Start maintenance Wizard by clicking on Start, choose Programs, choose Accessories, choose system tools and click on Maintenance Wizard.
5- Use software package that help to optimize your hard disk’s performance, e.g. Symantec’s Norton Utilities.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Tips for Buying a PC
Buying Your PC
Buying a PC that’s right for you and your family is not all that simple task. More so if you’re going to buy an unbranded or an assembled one. But branded or not, you have to get you facts right before you shell out your money. First, why do you want to buy a PC? Is it because almost every one has one these days, or that you have the money to spare. If these are the reasons are that you want to end up spending a lot of money on something you’re unlikely to use. But if your reasons are that you want it for home based business, or for your kids for their education, or to work at home, or that you want to surf the net, you are on the right track. Now let’s get down to specifics.
What do you need it for?
Take a piece of paper and write down what all you need to do with the pc.
Spreadsheets, Word processing, Surfing the Web, sending e-mail, playing games. Running multimedia, Watching movies, playing music ,CAD drawings, graphics designing, Web designing. Programming and Online learning.
Make your list. Why? Because different needs need Different PCs. You really don’t need the latest computer if all you’re going to do is browsing, no matter what the vendor tells you.
When you make your list be sure to look a little ahead and see what all other things you might be using the computer for. For instance, do you think you are likely to take up graphics designing? Or will the kids start playing all those high-end games?
How much money do you want to spend?
Get hang of the money you can spend on the PC. Then you have to look for the PC that suits your needs and your budget. This may need some balancing even, if your requirements are huge and the budget isn’t. This will also decide if you should go for branded PC or an assembled one.
Brand or assembled?
This is a question that has gone on for a while now. A year ago, branded ones. We recommend that you go for a PC for which you can get assured service and support. Fort a more detailed analysis, catch our July story called Branded or Not?
What is it?
This is the part that has the computer’s basic circuitry and components. The processors, meomory, BIOS, expansion slots, etc all go on the motherboard.
What’s available?
Right now you have two broad choices for a motherboard. The motherboards based on Intel 810 chipset have the graphics and audio capabilities on to the board itself-that’s what they mean by integrated graphics and audio onboard. In case you’re looking for better graphics (say, you will be moving to high-end games, or graphics, or CAD or need better sound environmental audio, sound-editing), you’ll have to get some high-end video and audio cards. Which such a motherboard won’t support. You could, in such cards.
What to ask the vendor :
What are the upgrades possible on this motherboard? Which processors are supported? How much are the upgrades going to cost?
What is it?
The brain of the PC. You don’t always have to go for the fastest. And just having a processor that’s fast won’t do. The rest of the system has to keep up with it.
What’s available?
Among the low-end ones available are Celeron, AMD K6.2 and K6-3, and now AMD”S Duron. They are available in different clock speeds-go for the one you can afford. A Celeron 600MHZ. Among the high-end processors are Pentium III and AMD’s Anthon. A PIII 667 MHz.
Also remember that a processor alone can’t make the PC zip. For instance, A PIII on an 810 motherboard that doesn’t have much graphics capability isn’t of much use.
How much do you need?
If you are going to work on office application like word processors and spreadsheets, and some browsing, a Celeron or an AMDK6 series, or Duron would do. For work that needs more processing power you have to go for a Pentium III or an Anthon. You’ll find some Pentium IIs in the market but Intel Doesn’t makes them anymore.
What is it?
This is the place where all your program and data will b stored on the PC. Your PC’s performance will depend upon the rate at which your hard disk can read data and give it to the other parts. The speed of a hard disk is measured in rpm. These days most hard disks come with a speed of 7200 rpm. And some other available in hard disk 7.5 GB, 15 GB, 20 GB, and for more on how to take care of your hard disk, check out The Hard Disk Guide in this issue.
How much do you need?
Most PCs now come with 8-10 GB of hard disk space. With fat OSs and fatter office suites and games, you’ll need some bit of space. 17 GB is quite common, now even 30 GB doesn’t raise eyebrows. So do take those offers of 1GB with a huge bag of salt.
What is it?
The place where information is stored for a while so that the processor doesn’t have to keep hunting for it on the hard disk.
What’s available?
The more you have the better it is. A lot of PCs still come with 32 MB RAM-we advise you to go for 64MB at the very least. If you’re a gamer or into heavy graphics, you’ll need 128 MB.
How much do you need?
The more you have the better it is. A lot of PCs still come with 32 MB RAM-we advise you to go for 64 MB at the very least. If you’re a gamer or into heavy graphics, you’ll need 128 MB
What is it?
This is a card that carries out the processing for all that’s related to the display. You could have a fast processor, lots of ROM and hard disk that keeps pace with it all. But if the display can’t match all this-the speed at which the things have got processed will take ages to show up on screen. The card has its RAM- called video RAM (VRAM).
What’s available?
As we said earlier, some motherboards have this function inbuilt, but others need you to have a graphics card for this. You get a range of cards now.
How much do you need?
If you’re into heavy gaming and graphics and CAD and 3D modeling, you need to have a card with at least 8 MB VRAM, 16MB if you can afford it. For other purpose, 4 MB VRAM is good enough.
All software comes on CDs. A lot of computers magazines that teach you how to use computers come with CDs. So a CD-ROM drive is a must. Now you have the option of going for CD-RW drives or even DVD drives. And some vendors have the check to see PCs without them.
Higher X ratings-such as 48X, 52X for a CD drive doesn’t mean that the drive will run at blazing speeds. In fact for routine things opening a CD tray, making a CD auto run-an 8X will do just fine. But if you were to rip songs from your audio CDs to convert them into MP3s you would need a faster drive.
A DVD drive is great if you are going to be watching a lot of movies on your PC- but make sure video card and sound card and speakers match up to it.
Go for a CD-RW drive if you are going to be burning a lot of CDs-keeping backups, making MP3 CDs, and so on.
The basic PC:
For running productivity applications: word processors, spreadsheet, presentations, Surfing. Using e-mail, using personal information mangers. Play music and videos, some light games and multimedia CDs
Specs:
* Celeron 550 MHz or above/AMD K6 series or Duron 550 MHz or above
* 64 MB RAM
* 15” color SVGA monitor
* 10-12 GB ATA/66 hard disk
* On board video abd sound
* 48 x or higher CD-drive
* 101-keys Keyboard
* 3-button mouse
* 56 kbps modem
The high-end PC –
For heavy gaming, graphics, multimedia creation, sound editing
Specs:
* Pentium III 700 MHz/ k-7 700 MHz or higher
* 128 MB RAM
* 17 GB ATA/^^ hard disk drive
* video card with 32 MB VRAM
* 101-keys keyboard
* on board sound (for those into sound editing and composing, a high-end sound card like Creative SoundBlaster Live is needed)
* 17” monitor
* Scroll mouse
* 56 Kbps modem
Sound card and Speakers:
The sound card processes the sound that you hear on your PC. These days sounds cards not only make multimedia application sound great, they also let you compose record and edit your own music.
Monitor:
14” monitors are out. You can get in your some other type of the monitor in 15”, color monitor, 16 inches and 17 inches monitor are available in the market.
PORTS –
Ports are where you plug in peripherals. The mouse and keyboard go into their respective ports. Serial ports take in modems. Parallel ports take in printer, scanners, etc, There are now USB ports for USB printers, scanners, digital cameras, etc. Now there are Fire Wire ports t00-but these are useful for those into video-editing and such tasks that need a lot of data to be transferred in a shot.
Keyboard and Mouse-
There is a range of mice to choose from Look for one that you fell comfortable working with. There are different types of keyboards. Again look for one that doesn’t require you to thump hard to type, feels ergonomic. You could also go for devices go for devices that have programmable buttons/keys.
Software-
You need an operating system-the common one is of course, Windows 98. Now the latest version of Windows for the home is Windows Me.
You need an office suits, or at least programs that do word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. You need a browser to the Web, and an e-mail program. You’ll also need an antivirus, some system diagnostic tools, some graphics programs, and some useful things like media players (to run your movies and play music), file compression tools like WinZip. Then of course, there is a world of games and multimedia titles to explore .
Buying a PC that’s right for you and your family is not all that simple task. More so if you’re going to buy an unbranded or an assembled one. But branded or not, you have to get you facts right before you shell out your money. First, why do you want to buy a PC? Is it because almost every one has one these days, or that you have the money to spare. If these are the reasons are that you want to end up spending a lot of money on something you’re unlikely to use. But if your reasons are that you want it for home based business, or for your kids for their education, or to work at home, or that you want to surf the net, you are on the right track. Now let’s get down to specifics.
What do you need it for?
Take a piece of paper and write down what all you need to do with the pc.
Spreadsheets, Word processing, Surfing the Web, sending e-mail, playing games. Running multimedia, Watching movies, playing music ,CAD drawings, graphics designing, Web designing. Programming and Online learning.
Make your list. Why? Because different needs need Different PCs. You really don’t need the latest computer if all you’re going to do is browsing, no matter what the vendor tells you.
When you make your list be sure to look a little ahead and see what all other things you might be using the computer for. For instance, do you think you are likely to take up graphics designing? Or will the kids start playing all those high-end games?
How much money do you want to spend?
Get hang of the money you can spend on the PC. Then you have to look for the PC that suits your needs and your budget. This may need some balancing even, if your requirements are huge and the budget isn’t. This will also decide if you should go for branded PC or an assembled one.
Brand or assembled?
This is a question that has gone on for a while now. A year ago, branded ones. We recommend that you go for a PC for which you can get assured service and support. Fort a more detailed analysis, catch our July story called Branded or Not?
What is it?
This is the part that has the computer’s basic circuitry and components. The processors, meomory, BIOS, expansion slots, etc all go on the motherboard.
What’s available?
Right now you have two broad choices for a motherboard. The motherboards based on Intel 810 chipset have the graphics and audio capabilities on to the board itself-that’s what they mean by integrated graphics and audio onboard. In case you’re looking for better graphics (say, you will be moving to high-end games, or graphics, or CAD or need better sound environmental audio, sound-editing), you’ll have to get some high-end video and audio cards. Which such a motherboard won’t support. You could, in such cards.
What to ask the vendor :
What are the upgrades possible on this motherboard? Which processors are supported? How much are the upgrades going to cost?
What is it?
The brain of the PC. You don’t always have to go for the fastest. And just having a processor that’s fast won’t do. The rest of the system has to keep up with it.
What’s available?
Among the low-end ones available are Celeron, AMD K6.2 and K6-3, and now AMD”S Duron. They are available in different clock speeds-go for the one you can afford. A Celeron 600MHZ. Among the high-end processors are Pentium III and AMD’s Anthon. A PIII 667 MHz.
Also remember that a processor alone can’t make the PC zip. For instance, A PIII on an 810 motherboard that doesn’t have much graphics capability isn’t of much use.
How much do you need?
If you are going to work on office application like word processors and spreadsheets, and some browsing, a Celeron or an AMDK6 series, or Duron would do. For work that needs more processing power you have to go for a Pentium III or an Anthon. You’ll find some Pentium IIs in the market but Intel Doesn’t makes them anymore.
What is it?
This is the place where all your program and data will b stored on the PC. Your PC’s performance will depend upon the rate at which your hard disk can read data and give it to the other parts. The speed of a hard disk is measured in rpm. These days most hard disks come with a speed of 7200 rpm. And some other available in hard disk 7.5 GB, 15 GB, 20 GB, and for more on how to take care of your hard disk, check out The Hard Disk Guide in this issue.
How much do you need?
Most PCs now come with 8-10 GB of hard disk space. With fat OSs and fatter office suites and games, you’ll need some bit of space. 17 GB is quite common, now even 30 GB doesn’t raise eyebrows. So do take those offers of 1GB with a huge bag of salt.
What is it?
The place where information is stored for a while so that the processor doesn’t have to keep hunting for it on the hard disk.
What’s available?
The more you have the better it is. A lot of PCs still come with 32 MB RAM-we advise you to go for 64MB at the very least. If you’re a gamer or into heavy graphics, you’ll need 128 MB.
How much do you need?
The more you have the better it is. A lot of PCs still come with 32 MB RAM-we advise you to go for 64 MB at the very least. If you’re a gamer or into heavy graphics, you’ll need 128 MB
What is it?
This is a card that carries out the processing for all that’s related to the display. You could have a fast processor, lots of ROM and hard disk that keeps pace with it all. But if the display can’t match all this-the speed at which the things have got processed will take ages to show up on screen. The card has its RAM- called video RAM (VRAM).
What’s available?
As we said earlier, some motherboards have this function inbuilt, but others need you to have a graphics card for this. You get a range of cards now.
How much do you need?
If you’re into heavy gaming and graphics and CAD and 3D modeling, you need to have a card with at least 8 MB VRAM, 16MB if you can afford it. For other purpose, 4 MB VRAM is good enough.
All software comes on CDs. A lot of computers magazines that teach you how to use computers come with CDs. So a CD-ROM drive is a must. Now you have the option of going for CD-RW drives or even DVD drives. And some vendors have the check to see PCs without them.
Higher X ratings-such as 48X, 52X for a CD drive doesn’t mean that the drive will run at blazing speeds. In fact for routine things opening a CD tray, making a CD auto run-an 8X will do just fine. But if you were to rip songs from your audio CDs to convert them into MP3s you would need a faster drive.
A DVD drive is great if you are going to be watching a lot of movies on your PC- but make sure video card and sound card and speakers match up to it.
Go for a CD-RW drive if you are going to be burning a lot of CDs-keeping backups, making MP3 CDs, and so on.
The basic PC:
For running productivity applications: word processors, spreadsheet, presentations, Surfing. Using e-mail, using personal information mangers. Play music and videos, some light games and multimedia CDs
Specs:
* Celeron 550 MHz or above/AMD K6 series or Duron 550 MHz or above
* 64 MB RAM
* 15” color SVGA monitor
* 10-12 GB ATA/66 hard disk
* On board video abd sound
* 48 x or higher CD-drive
* 101-keys Keyboard
* 3-button mouse
* 56 kbps modem
The high-end PC –
For heavy gaming, graphics, multimedia creation, sound editing
Specs:
* Pentium III 700 MHz/ k-7 700 MHz or higher
* 128 MB RAM
* 17 GB ATA/^^ hard disk drive
* video card with 32 MB VRAM
* 101-keys keyboard
* on board sound (for those into sound editing and composing, a high-end sound card like Creative SoundBlaster Live is needed)
* 17” monitor
* Scroll mouse
* 56 Kbps modem
Sound card and Speakers:
The sound card processes the sound that you hear on your PC. These days sounds cards not only make multimedia application sound great, they also let you compose record and edit your own music.
Monitor:
14” monitors are out. You can get in your some other type of the monitor in 15”, color monitor, 16 inches and 17 inches monitor are available in the market.
PORTS –
Ports are where you plug in peripherals. The mouse and keyboard go into their respective ports. Serial ports take in modems. Parallel ports take in printer, scanners, etc, There are now USB ports for USB printers, scanners, digital cameras, etc. Now there are Fire Wire ports t00-but these are useful for those into video-editing and such tasks that need a lot of data to be transferred in a shot.
Keyboard and Mouse-
There is a range of mice to choose from Look for one that you fell comfortable working with. There are different types of keyboards. Again look for one that doesn’t require you to thump hard to type, feels ergonomic. You could also go for devices go for devices that have programmable buttons/keys.
Software-
You need an operating system-the common one is of course, Windows 98. Now the latest version of Windows for the home is Windows Me.
You need an office suits, or at least programs that do word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. You need a browser to the Web, and an e-mail program. You’ll also need an antivirus, some system diagnostic tools, some graphics programs, and some useful things like media players (to run your movies and play music), file compression tools like WinZip. Then of course, there is a world of games and multimedia titles to explore .
Thursday, August 3, 2006
5 Zero-Cost Spam Prevention Tools For All Situations!
Anyone who uses email knows what Spam is!
It's annoying and time consuming to wade through volumes of fraud, con and obscene emails to filter out the really important ones. And I am sure you are affected by this menace in some form or other.
How do we reduce this intolerable amounts of junk?
Here are 5 Zero-Cost tools to prevent junk cluttering your mail box. (You can access them all from a single source and the info is given at the end of this article.)
--* For the Average Email User *--
1. Spam.N-Dream, - For the POP3 Mail user.
By far this is the easiest and effective solution for anyone with a POP3 email ID. For e.g. you@aol.com.
Spam.n-dream.com is a web based service that retrieves all your email for you and sends you only the emails from email ID's that are pre-authenticated by you. This means, no one can send you an email unless you give prior permission.
This service is very effective - let me tell you that.
2. SpamPal, - The Desktop Solution
SpamPal is a program that sits between your email client and your mailbox, checking your email as you retrieve it.
Any email messages that SpamPal considers to be junk will be "tagged" with a special header; you simply configure your email client to filter anything with this header into a separate folder and your Spam won't be mixed up with the rest of your email anymore!
--* For the Website Owner *--
Posting your email address on your website is a sure way to attract junk. (e.g. support@yoursite.com)
In case you are not aware, there exists special software's that harvest anything with an @ in between. This means, your posted emails are sitting ducks for an avalanche of junk.
1. Enkoder Form 6.0, - A Simple Solution for the Webmaster
One way to protect yourself is to "encode" your address, The Enkoder Form will encrypt your Email address and convert it to a JavaScript, hiding it from Email harvesting robots which crawl the web for exposed addresses.
Simply copy this JavaScript and paste it into your Web page where you want the email to appear.
2. Master SpamBot Buster, - A Thorough CGI Solution
Master Spambot Buster stops robots harvesting email addresses from your web pages. But the script does more than that! It completely stops harvesting your email address from:
-Newsletters, -Newsgroup postings, -Discussion list postings, -Instant messages, -Print ads, -Or any other document
Instead of publishing your email address, you use the Master Spambot Buster method so that your email address is protected from everywhere and from all documents.
This is a great software released by willmaster.com
3. NATATA Anti-Spam Encoder, - Desktop Solution
This program searches for email addresses either from all your web pages or a single page and encodes them all in minutes automatically. Its pure HTML encoding and no Java used.
You do not have to be technically savvy to use this one as it automatically inserts the codes into your web pages. In 2 minutes you can entirely encrypt all your web pages.
This is by far, the best software that I came across
You may access all the 5 tools given above from here: http://www.learnhomebusiness.com/bonuses/spamtools.htm
I hope, these resources will help you to reduce the junk clogging your mail box.
It's annoying and time consuming to wade through volumes of fraud, con and obscene emails to filter out the really important ones. And I am sure you are affected by this menace in some form or other.
How do we reduce this intolerable amounts of junk?
Here are 5 Zero-Cost tools to prevent junk cluttering your mail box. (You can access them all from a single source and the info is given at the end of this article.)
--* For the Average Email User *--
1. Spam.N-Dream, - For the POP3 Mail user.
By far this is the easiest and effective solution for anyone with a POP3 email ID. For e.g. you@aol.com.
Spam.n-dream.com is a web based service that retrieves all your email for you and sends you only the emails from email ID's that are pre-authenticated by you. This means, no one can send you an email unless you give prior permission.
This service is very effective - let me tell you that.
2. SpamPal, - The Desktop Solution
SpamPal is a program that sits between your email client and your mailbox, checking your email as you retrieve it.
Any email messages that SpamPal considers to be junk will be "tagged" with a special header; you simply configure your email client to filter anything with this header into a separate folder and your Spam won't be mixed up with the rest of your email anymore!
--* For the Website Owner *--
Posting your email address on your website is a sure way to attract junk. (e.g. support@yoursite.com)
In case you are not aware, there exists special software's that harvest anything with an @ in between. This means, your posted emails are sitting ducks for an avalanche of junk.
1. Enkoder Form 6.0, - A Simple Solution for the Webmaster
One way to protect yourself is to "encode" your address, The Enkoder Form will encrypt your Email address and convert it to a JavaScript, hiding it from Email harvesting robots which crawl the web for exposed addresses.
Simply copy this JavaScript and paste it into your Web page where you want the email to appear.
2. Master SpamBot Buster, - A Thorough CGI Solution
Master Spambot Buster stops robots harvesting email addresses from your web pages. But the script does more than that! It completely stops harvesting your email address from:
-Newsletters, -Newsgroup postings, -Discussion list postings, -Instant messages, -Print ads, -Or any other document
Instead of publishing your email address, you use the Master Spambot Buster method so that your email address is protected from everywhere and from all documents.
This is a great software released by willmaster.com
3. NATATA Anti-Spam Encoder, - Desktop Solution
This program searches for email addresses either from all your web pages or a single page and encodes them all in minutes automatically. Its pure HTML encoding and no Java used.
You do not have to be technically savvy to use this one as it automatically inserts the codes into your web pages. In 2 minutes you can entirely encrypt all your web pages.
This is by far, the best software that I came across
You may access all the 5 tools given above from here: http://www.learnhomebusiness.com/bonuses/spamtools.htm
I hope, these resources will help you to reduce the junk clogging your mail box.
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Search the Web More Efficiently: Tips, Techniques and Strategies
Studies show that after email, searching the Web is the most popular activity on the Internet. Searching is easy; finding what you're looking for can sometimes be difficult. Hopefully the advice below will make your next Web search a breeze.
Do you really need the Web?
Before using the Web to search for information, you'll have to ask yourself if the Web is the most appropriate medium to use to find your information. You can find a florist shop in your neighborhood faster by using the local, printed Yellow Pages instead of using the Web. And sometimes a library can give you better, more comprehensive answers than the Web.
However, in most of the cases, the best and fastest way to find information is... a Web search.
Obviously, the first thing you need to search the Web is a computer with Internet access.
Before really starting your search, you'll have to decide which browser you are going to use. As a reminder, a browser, according to WhatIs.com is a program "that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web." You can select a popular browser such as Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla or Opera or you can use an alternative browser. My favorite: Avant Browser. (I have NO connection with MyBookmarks.com) Keep in mind that some browsers are faster or have more options. You can download these browsers from their companies' web sites.
Tools for searching the Web
There are many search tools available: search engines, subject directories / virtual libraries, invisible (deep) web databases, meta search engines, etc.
A search engine is a keyword searchable database of Internet files that uses a software program to continually scour the Web. The resulting information is then indexed and stored in its database.
My favorite search engines are:
* Google™ [ http://www.google.com/ ]
* AlltheWeb [ http://www.alltheweb.com/ ]
* MSN [ http://www.msn.com/ ]
* Teoma [ http://www.teoma.com/ ]
* AltaVista [ http://www.altavista.com/ ]
* WiseNut [ http://www.wisenut.com/ ]
A subject directory (web directory) is a searchable collection of Web pages gathered, selected and organized by human editors into hierarchically subject categories. A virtual library is a web directory that includes highly selective links, chosen mostly by librarians.
Web directories cover a much smaller proportion of the Web but using them will bring you more highly relevant results. The largest web directories index a few million pages compared with the billions of pages indexed by some major search engines.
Remember that the web directories - like the search engines - do not search the Web directly. Instead, they search their own databases of indexed Web pages. Also, be aware that directories might not be up-to-date. Some search engines are in fact hybrid search tools because they are both search engines and web directories. (Google™, for example, has a search engine and a directory, powered by Open Directory Project)
Some widely used web directories are:
* Google™ Directory [ http://directory.google.com/ ]
* Open Directory Project (ODP) [ http://www.dmoz.org/ ]
* Yahoo! [ http://www.yahoo.com/ ]
* Zeal [ http://www.zeal.com/ ]
* JoeAnt [ http://www.joeant.com/ ]
* Gimpsy [ http://www.gimpsy.com/ ]
Popular virtual libraries include:
* Librarians' Index to the Internet [ http://www.lii.org/ ]
* Internet Public Library [ http://www.ipl.org/ ]
* The WWW Virtual Library [ http://www.vlib.org/ ]
* Internet Scout Project [ http://www.scout.wisc.edu/Archives/ ]
* BUBL Link [ http://www.bubl.ac.uk/ ]
The so-called invisible (deep) web is a collection of online information stored in live databases accessible on the Web but not indexed by traditional search engines. Examples of excellent invisible web databases are:
* ProFusion [ http://www.profusion.com/ ]
* Invisible-web.net [ http://www.invisible-web.net/ ]
* Complete Planet [ http://www.completeplanet.com/ ]
* Resource Discovery Network [ http://www.rdn.ac.uk/ ]
* direct search (Gary Price) [ http://www.freepint.com/gary/direct.htm ]
A meta search engine (also known as metacrawler or multithreaded engine) is a search tool that sends your query simultaneously to several search engines, web directories and sometimes to the so-called invisible (deep) web. After collecting the results, the meta search engine removes the duplicate links and - according to its algorithm - will combine and rank the results into a single merged list.
Because most of the meta search engines take only the top 10 or 20 from each search engine, you can expect excellent results, "la crème de la crème."
But be aware that because some search engines and web directories do not support advanced searching techniques - such as quotation marks to enclose phrases or Boolean operators - no results from those search engines will appear in the meta search engines' results list when those techniques are used.
Remember, meta search engines do not maintain their own databases and therefore cannot accept web site submissions.
The best meta search engines are:
* ez2Find [ http://www.ez2find.com/ ]
* Vivisimo [ http://www.vivisimo.com/ ]
* InfoGrid [ http://www.infogrid.com/ ]
* Infonetware [ http://www.infonetware.com/ ]
* iBoogie [ http://www.iboogie.com/ ]
A special kind of meta search engine is the search utility (also called desktop search programs or client-side search software). Unlike the web-based meta search engines listed above, search utilities are software programs that you download to your computer. The most popular are:
* Copernic [ http://www.copernic.com/en/index.html ]
* Arrow Search [ http://www.rt-software.co.uk/arrow_search/ ]
* SearchRocket [ http://www.searchrocket.com/ ]
* WebFerret [ http://www.ferretsoft.com/index.html ]
* ProtoSearch [ http://www.npccenterprises.com/products.shtml ]
Meta search engines are excellent tools, but they do not eliminate the need for search engines.
For more about meta search engines, see my article: The Meta Search Engines: A Web Searcher's Best Friends.
Which Search Tool Should You Choose?
* If you're looking for specific information use search engines.
* If you're looking for a unique or obscure search term or if you want to make an in-depth analysis of what's out there on a specific subject, then use meta search engines.
* If you're looking for general information on popular topics, use subject (web) directories.
* If you're looking for scholarly information use virtual libraries.
* If you're looking for real-time information or for dynamically changing content such as the latest news, phone book listings, available airline flights, etc., then use specialized databases (invisible or deep web.)
There are thousands of search engines, hundreds of meta search engines and dozens of web directories and specialized databases. Choosing the right search tool - from the start - can make the difference between a successful search and a frustrating experience.
Before Starting the Search
The easiest way to find information is when you know a web page Internet address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) such as Fortune Magazine at http://www.fortune.com. You can find these addresses on business cards, TV commercials or newspapers. Simply type the URL in the browser's address box and hit the (PC) or (Mac) key.
Be aware that in most browsers, you do not have to type "http://" or even "www" before the domain name. You can access a site simply typing the domain name such as "sony.com."
Special note: Be careful when you copy and paste a long URL from an email message or from some web sites. URLs that span two lines have a gap (space) between the last character of the first line and the first character on the second line. First, get rid of the gap and then paste it in the browser's address line.
Other times you may not know the URL but... you can guess it. Often companies will use their name, acronym or abbreviated name followed by ".com", such as ibm.com or apple.com. The same thing is true for educational institutions (add the ".edu" suffix) or government sites (add ".gov") So, whenever you don't know an URL, you can try to guess it.
If you do not know the URL, you'll have to find it by searching the Internet. In many cases, a simple search on the name of an organization within most search engines will return a direct hit on their web site.
Tips For Searching Smarter:
* Read the search engine's "search tips" or "help" page before using a search tool. Strangely enough, most of the time you'll find the "search tips" link on the "Advanced Search" page or on the "results page." Anyway, regularly check the search tips page because the rules often change.
* Customize the output of the results. Use the search engine's "preferences" page. Some search tools allow you to select the value for:
o the total results per page; usually 10 by default (select
o the maximum - often 100)
o the search tool's timeout - select the maximum
o the search depth - select maximum.
Be sure to save the new "settings" or "search preferences" for the next time you use the search tools. Also, set the browser you use to accept cookies.
Tips To Make Your Search Faster:
If you're searching for information and you are not interested in graphics on the pages you see, turn off or disable graphics. You can also turn off sounds, animation, Java, JavaScript, etc. See your browser documentation for instructions.
If you decide to keep the graphics, in the case of a "heavy" page, you can always press the button in the browser, immediately after you see the text and before the graphics are entirely loaded.
More Tips:
* Most search tools are case-insensitive which means that you can construct a query - your search request - by typing all the words - even proper names - in lower case text.
* If you type a long query, most of the search tools' search boxes are not very wide so you cannot see the entire query. Write the query in a word processor and then "copy and paste" into the search box. Be aware that Google™ only allows 10 words in the search box.
* Some search tools offer an option called "similar pages" (Google™) or "related pages" (AltaVista and Teoma.) Clicking on that option will show you relevant results for the page you're interested in.
* Some search engines have a function called "see more hits/results/pages from the same domain." Sometimes it can be useful.
* Also, some search tools, such as Google™, allow you to see an English translation for a results page that is written in a foreign language. If you want to translate a web page and you have the URL, you can also use these sites:
o Systran [ http://www.systransoft.com/ ]
o Fagan Finder [ http://www.faganfinder.com/translate/ ]
o AltaVista' Babel Fish [ http://babelfish.altavista.com/ ]
o alphaWorks (IBM) [ http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/aw.nsf/html/mt ]
Remember, don't expect perfect translations because that seldom happens.
* Looking for pages in a specific language? Some search engines (Google™, AlltheWeb, etc.) have an advanced search page that allows you to select the language from the pull-down menu.
* If your search terms contain letters not present in the English alphabet such as "é" or "ü" (example fiancé or München), use Fagan Finder's (Search Engine Ultimate Interface) which allows you to use these special letters in many major search engines. It makes a big difference. A search for Munchen in Google™ gives 570,000 results while for München - "u" with umlaut - gives 51,700,000 - almost 10 times more.
So, let's start searching!
Most of the search tools can be searched using keywords. Web directories and the invisible web databases can also be searched by browsing categories and subcategories.
Start with a popular search engine such as Google™, for example.
Before typing the keywords, take your time and brainstorm relevant words. Create a list of search terms. Write them down. A few seconds of brainstorming could save you minutes or hours of retrieving irrelevant results.
Advice for Searching Better:
* Select the most descriptive words. Brainstorm thoroughly.
* Use at least two keywords.
* Place the most important words or phrases first. Whenever two or more words can appear in exact order, enclose the words with double quotation marks ("word 1 word 2".) Example: "United States." If you use a longer phrase, you will achieve more precise results. With a very long phrase, however, you may get zero results. Some search engines allow you to select the "phrase" option in the pull-down menu on their advanced search page or you can type it in special phrase search box, so you don't have to use quotes.
* When possible, use unique, rare or unusual keywords. The more uncommon / obscure or less frequent the keywords you use are, the fewer and more relevant results you will get.
* Use nouns and objects as keywords. Do not use the so-called "stop words" such as "what," "where," "the," "in," "and," etc. Many search tools ignore them. If you need a stop word to appear in the results, place the implied Boolean operator "+ " in front of that word. The standard Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT (or AND NOT), NEAR, BEFORE, AFTER and the Boolean logic "(parenthesis)", are used to construct complicated queries. The implied Boolean operators "+" and "-" can replace the AND and NOT respectively. An example of Boolean logic is (tips OR tricks) AND ("search engines" OR "web directories"). It will find tips or tricks for search engines or web directories. Check the search tool's tips to see if they accept Boolean operators. For example Google™ does not support full Boolean logic.
* Do not use common terms such as Internet, Web, etc. except for cases that it is necessary. (For example, the query is "searching the web" with quotes.)
* Avoid redundant terms and complicated query structures.
* Choosing the right words for your query is the most important part of web searching. The more specific the search term, the more relevant your results will be and the more likely it is that you will find what you seek. Remember, work smarter not harder.
* The secret to constructing a professional query is to type words you expect to find in the matches.
Note: Some search tools, such as Ask Jeeves allow you to use the so-called "natural language." This means that you can construct a query as a question in plain English, such as "What's the weather in LA?" When you have a specific question in mind, these tools can be helpful.
Checking the Results:
After typing your keywords into the search box press either the "enter" key on the keyboard or, click on the "search," "find" or "go" button on the search tool's homepage. You will receive a list of documents that - hopefully - match your query. If you do not, it may be because some unscrupulous webmasters use unethical methods to cheat the search engines and achieve undeserved, top rankings for their sites. To learn more about this topic, please read my article, "Search Engine Spamming Sucks!"
The results returned, also called "matches" or "hits" will be web pages related to the subject you're searching for, ranked in order of relevancy according to the search tool's algorithm or by date, URL, title, etc.
Each result will contain information such as the title of the page, a short description, the page's URL and the size of the page.
Now you have a tough job. You have to decide which of the search results will take you to the most informative site. Your best bet is to take a look at the title and description of the page. Are they relevant to your search? If yes, open the page. If not, check the next result, by scrolling down on the right side of the browser.
To view a page you have two options:
1. Click on the title of the page - even if says "No title" or "?????". Place the cursor on the page title and the cursor will change to the picture of a hand. Usually the links are in blue and underlined, but often they are not. You can find links in any color, including black, which makes it difficult to recognize a link in text of the same color.
2. The second method is to open the page in a new browser window. Right-click over the title of the result. This produces a pop-up menu. Select "open (link) in new window." After checking the result, close the new browser window. You will still have the first window browser with your search. Some search tools have an option that allows you to open the result in a new window. Don't get used to that, do the right thing: open a new browser window by using the mouse's right-click.
If you use the first method most likely you will not use the back button to go back to the results page, but instead you will simply close the window, losing the search page altogether.
Criteria for Evaluating a Web Resource:
First of all, don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Recently I found a page where it stated that Google™ has about one billion web pages indexed. Well, according to Google™, it indexes 3,307,998,701 web pages. Be careful what you believe. Governmental agencies, educational institutions, libraries and prestigious publications are the most reliable sources of information. Be circumspect with information found on personal sites stored in free hosts.
Six Tips For Evaluating A Site:
1. Is the web site published by an authoritative source? Is the author a recognized expert in the field or subject area?
2. Is the information relevant, credible and accurate? It doesn't hurt to cross check two to three additional, reliable sources.
3. Is the site current and recently updated?
4. Does the site have a professional "look and feel": structure, layout, color scheme, navigation menu(s), etc.?
5. Are there spelling, grammar or punctuation errors?
6. Does the site have contact information such as a postal address, phone or email?
Four Additional Tips:
1. Don't look only at the top ten listings. Excellent results can be found on the top 20, or even top 50 results. This is why customizing the result output at 100 results per page is handy. You don't have to open a next ten-results-per-page page. If you don't find relevant results in the first 20 to 50, reformulate your query or try another search tool - a meta search engine, for example.
2. Check only results that truly looks relevant.
3. Be aware that many search tools list "sponsored links" at the top of their results page. These are not results from the search tool's database. Instead these results are paid listings from corporations that have an interest in providing you with information about their products or services. Studies show that searchers find it hard to distinguish between regular and paid results, so be aware that these exist.
4. To quickly discover if a result is relevant, use the "Find (on This Page)" command of the browser (in the Edit menu) or simultaneously press CTRL and F keys then type one of your important words and press "Find next". You will find the location of that word, and you can see if the page is really relevant or not.
What To Do When You Get TOO MANY Results:
It's common to receive millions of results, often unrelated to the search. To receive more relevant results you'll have to refine or even rethink the search. Here are some ideas to help you refine your search:
* Add one or more descriptive words to your query.
* Use phrases. Enclose two or more words that can appear in exact order within double quotation marks.
* Exclude words you don't want in the results by using the implied Boolean operator "-". Example: the query "red apples" -"yellow apples" will find pages that contain "red apples" - in that order - and will not include pages that contain "yellow apples. " As you see, there is no space between the "-" sign and the word or phrase you want to exclude. There is, however, a space between the "-" sign and the previous word.
* Use the search tool's "advanced search" functions. Limit your search by language, date or by field searching: title, URL, link etc. See the search tool's "search tips" for details.
What To Do When You Get Too Few Or Irrelevant Results:
Sometimes you will get messages like "Your search did not match any documents" or "No pages were found containing your query" or "No results." Other times you may get few or irrelevant results.
What You Should Do:
* Check the spelling of the query. Some search engines automatically detect misspelled words and will show the correct spelling. Just click on the suggested word or words.
* Delete the least important word from the query.
* If you used a search phrases try eliminating the double quotes.
* Use more general terms, alternate spellings, plural forms or synonyms. Recently, "Google™ introduced a new advanced search feature that allows you to not only search for a particular keyword but also for its synonyms. Just place the "~" (tilde) diacritical mark directly in front of the keyword in your search query. For example, "browser ~help" not only searches for "browser help", but also for "browser support", "browser tips" and "browser tutorials."
* You can also check the spelling of the Web page's URL if you typed it directly into the address field of the browser.
* If all the above strategies fail, switch to another search tool, preferably a meta search engine such as ez2Find (formerly ez2www.)
Remember: if you're doing a serious research, consider asking a professional Web searcher to do the job. In a few hours, he may find information that would have taken you days to find.
If you receive the message "The page cannot be displayed" or "Not found" the page has been discontinued.
What you can do:
* If a page that doesn't display is not the site's home page you can use the following trick. Cut the Web address of the page starting on the right-hand side and stopping at every forward slash (/). Let's say that the URL of a dead link is www.domainname/archive/article_1.html. First delete "article_1.html" and click "enter." Hopefully you will see the "archive" page and the "article 1." If not, also delete "archive" and click "enter." Hopefully you will get the home page and there will still be an option "archive."
* When you cannot see a page, use the "cached" function of some search engines, such as Google™. Go back to the results list and click on the "cached" link near the result. You will get a snapshot of the page stored in Google™'s index. Keep in mind that Google™ does not cache all the Web pages in its index and cached pages are often not up-to-date. Wayback Machine can also show you previous versions of a Web page. Simply type the URL and than select a date in the results list. Keep in mind that there are a limited number of URLs indexed in the Wayback Machine's database. Be aware that sometimes receiving few results means that ONLY a few results matched your query. Switch to a meta search engine and I guarantee you will receive better results.
Sometimes a search tool simply will not work. Why? Because it may be disabled or undergoing changes. Try again later. Other times you might receive messages like "503 Server is busy" or "Too many users. " Check back later. For U.S. residents, early morning and late night are the least busy times.
Qualities Of A Good Web Searcher:
* Patience. You can find what you're looking for in ten seconds, ten minutes or never. Keep in mind that searching the Web can be a very time consuming operation.
* Persistence. Don't be scared of millions of results. Don't give up too fast. Searching the Web is a process of trial and error.
* Good memory. When conducting extensive research, you'll have to remember all your previous search queries so you know what terms you have already tried. Write them down - it's easier.
* Good organizational skills. Plan your strategy ahead of time and stick with the plan.
* Creativity. Select the best words for your query.
* Decisiveness. Learn to quickly recognize relevant results in the search engine's result page. Don't waste your time with search tools or strategies that don't work.
* Learn and accept the Web's limitations. Sometimes you cannot find the information because there is no information available on the Web related to your search. But this happens very rarely. Most of the time, the problem is not a lack of information but rather being overwhelmed by relevant results. That is if you know where and how to search.
And yes, practice, practice, practice. The more you search, the more you'll know and soon you will be scoring the most relevant results in the timeliest manner.
A final piece of advice: use bookmarks or favorites.
When visiting a page that you think you might want to visit again, it's wise to save its web address (URL) in your "bookmarks" or "favorites" folder in your browser or - much better - in a Web-based bookmarks manager - such as MyBookmarks.com - which allows you to access your bookmarks from any computer at any location. (I have NO connection with MyBookmarks.com)
The next time you want to visit that page, you simply open the saved bookmark instead of searching again or typing the page's URL.
Be aware that in time you can collect thousands of bookmarks. Be smart and organize them in thoughtfully labeled categories and subcategories.
Last but not least, back-up your bookmarks just like all the other important information you back-up from your computer.
Rest assured that finding information on the Web is never a question of luck. Instead it is the result of a thorough understanding of how search tools work, combined with mastering the art of creating a targeted search query. Searching the Web is not difficult. Like any task, you simply must press the right buttons.
Do you really need the Web?
Before using the Web to search for information, you'll have to ask yourself if the Web is the most appropriate medium to use to find your information. You can find a florist shop in your neighborhood faster by using the local, printed Yellow Pages instead of using the Web. And sometimes a library can give you better, more comprehensive answers than the Web.
However, in most of the cases, the best and fastest way to find information is... a Web search.
Obviously, the first thing you need to search the Web is a computer with Internet access.
Before really starting your search, you'll have to decide which browser you are going to use. As a reminder, a browser, according to WhatIs.com is a program "that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web." You can select a popular browser such as Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla or Opera or you can use an alternative browser. My favorite: Avant Browser. (I have NO connection with MyBookmarks.com) Keep in mind that some browsers are faster or have more options. You can download these browsers from their companies' web sites.
Tools for searching the Web
There are many search tools available: search engines, subject directories / virtual libraries, invisible (deep) web databases, meta search engines, etc.
A search engine is a keyword searchable database of Internet files that uses a software program to continually scour the Web. The resulting information is then indexed and stored in its database.
My favorite search engines are:
* Google™ [ http://www.google.com/ ]
* AlltheWeb [ http://www.alltheweb.com/ ]
* MSN [ http://www.msn.com/ ]
* Teoma [ http://www.teoma.com/ ]
* AltaVista [ http://www.altavista.com/ ]
* WiseNut [ http://www.wisenut.com/ ]
A subject directory (web directory) is a searchable collection of Web pages gathered, selected and organized by human editors into hierarchically subject categories. A virtual library is a web directory that includes highly selective links, chosen mostly by librarians.
Web directories cover a much smaller proportion of the Web but using them will bring you more highly relevant results. The largest web directories index a few million pages compared with the billions of pages indexed by some major search engines.
Remember that the web directories - like the search engines - do not search the Web directly. Instead, they search their own databases of indexed Web pages. Also, be aware that directories might not be up-to-date. Some search engines are in fact hybrid search tools because they are both search engines and web directories. (Google™, for example, has a search engine and a directory, powered by Open Directory Project)
Some widely used web directories are:
* Google™ Directory [ http://directory.google.com/ ]
* Open Directory Project (ODP) [ http://www.dmoz.org/ ]
* Yahoo! [ http://www.yahoo.com/ ]
* Zeal [ http://www.zeal.com/ ]
* JoeAnt [ http://www.joeant.com/ ]
* Gimpsy [ http://www.gimpsy.com/ ]
Popular virtual libraries include:
* Librarians' Index to the Internet [ http://www.lii.org/ ]
* Internet Public Library [ http://www.ipl.org/ ]
* The WWW Virtual Library [ http://www.vlib.org/ ]
* Internet Scout Project [ http://www.scout.wisc.edu/Archives/ ]
* BUBL Link [ http://www.bubl.ac.uk/ ]
The so-called invisible (deep) web is a collection of online information stored in live databases accessible on the Web but not indexed by traditional search engines. Examples of excellent invisible web databases are:
* ProFusion [ http://www.profusion.com/ ]
* Invisible-web.net [ http://www.invisible-web.net/ ]
* Complete Planet [ http://www.completeplanet.com/ ]
* Resource Discovery Network [ http://www.rdn.ac.uk/ ]
* direct search (Gary Price) [ http://www.freepint.com/gary/direct.htm ]
A meta search engine (also known as metacrawler or multithreaded engine) is a search tool that sends your query simultaneously to several search engines, web directories and sometimes to the so-called invisible (deep) web. After collecting the results, the meta search engine removes the duplicate links and - according to its algorithm - will combine and rank the results into a single merged list.
Because most of the meta search engines take only the top 10 or 20 from each search engine, you can expect excellent results, "la crème de la crème."
But be aware that because some search engines and web directories do not support advanced searching techniques - such as quotation marks to enclose phrases or Boolean operators - no results from those search engines will appear in the meta search engines' results list when those techniques are used.
Remember, meta search engines do not maintain their own databases and therefore cannot accept web site submissions.
The best meta search engines are:
* ez2Find [ http://www.ez2find.com/ ]
* Vivisimo [ http://www.vivisimo.com/ ]
* InfoGrid [ http://www.infogrid.com/ ]
* Infonetware [ http://www.infonetware.com/ ]
* iBoogie [ http://www.iboogie.com/ ]
A special kind of meta search engine is the search utility (also called desktop search programs or client-side search software). Unlike the web-based meta search engines listed above, search utilities are software programs that you download to your computer. The most popular are:
* Copernic [ http://www.copernic.com/en/index.html ]
* Arrow Search [ http://www.rt-software.co.uk/arrow_search/ ]
* SearchRocket [ http://www.searchrocket.com/ ]
* WebFerret [ http://www.ferretsoft.com/index.html ]
* ProtoSearch [ http://www.npccenterprises.com/products.shtml ]
Meta search engines are excellent tools, but they do not eliminate the need for search engines.
For more about meta search engines, see my article: The Meta Search Engines: A Web Searcher's Best Friends.
Which Search Tool Should You Choose?
* If you're looking for specific information use search engines.
* If you're looking for a unique or obscure search term or if you want to make an in-depth analysis of what's out there on a specific subject, then use meta search engines.
* If you're looking for general information on popular topics, use subject (web) directories.
* If you're looking for scholarly information use virtual libraries.
* If you're looking for real-time information or for dynamically changing content such as the latest news, phone book listings, available airline flights, etc., then use specialized databases (invisible or deep web.)
There are thousands of search engines, hundreds of meta search engines and dozens of web directories and specialized databases. Choosing the right search tool - from the start - can make the difference between a successful search and a frustrating experience.
Before Starting the Search
The easiest way to find information is when you know a web page Internet address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) such as Fortune Magazine at http://www.fortune.com. You can find these addresses on business cards, TV commercials or newspapers. Simply type the URL in the browser's address box and hit the (PC) or (Mac) key.
Be aware that in most browsers, you do not have to type "http://" or even "www" before the domain name. You can access a site simply typing the domain name such as "sony.com."
Special note: Be careful when you copy and paste a long URL from an email message or from some web sites. URLs that span two lines have a gap (space) between the last character of the first line and the first character on the second line. First, get rid of the gap and then paste it in the browser's address line.
Other times you may not know the URL but... you can guess it. Often companies will use their name, acronym or abbreviated name followed by ".com", such as ibm.com or apple.com. The same thing is true for educational institutions (add the ".edu" suffix) or government sites (add ".gov") So, whenever you don't know an URL, you can try to guess it.
If you do not know the URL, you'll have to find it by searching the Internet. In many cases, a simple search on the name of an organization within most search engines will return a direct hit on their web site.
Tips For Searching Smarter:
* Read the search engine's "search tips" or "help" page before using a search tool. Strangely enough, most of the time you'll find the "search tips" link on the "Advanced Search" page or on the "results page." Anyway, regularly check the search tips page because the rules often change.
* Customize the output of the results. Use the search engine's "preferences" page. Some search tools allow you to select the value for:
o the total results per page; usually 10 by default (select
o the maximum - often 100)
o the search tool's timeout - select the maximum
o the search depth - select maximum.
Be sure to save the new "settings" or "search preferences" for the next time you use the search tools. Also, set the browser you use to accept cookies.
Tips To Make Your Search Faster:
If you're searching for information and you are not interested in graphics on the pages you see, turn off or disable graphics. You can also turn off sounds, animation, Java, JavaScript, etc. See your browser documentation for instructions.
If you decide to keep the graphics, in the case of a "heavy" page, you can always press the button in the browser, immediately after you see the text and before the graphics are entirely loaded.
More Tips:
* Most search tools are case-insensitive which means that you can construct a query - your search request - by typing all the words - even proper names - in lower case text.
* If you type a long query, most of the search tools' search boxes are not very wide so you cannot see the entire query. Write the query in a word processor and then "copy and paste" into the search box. Be aware that Google™ only allows 10 words in the search box.
* Some search tools offer an option called "similar pages" (Google™) or "related pages" (AltaVista and Teoma.) Clicking on that option will show you relevant results for the page you're interested in.
* Some search engines have a function called "see more hits/results/pages from the same domain." Sometimes it can be useful.
* Also, some search tools, such as Google™, allow you to see an English translation for a results page that is written in a foreign language. If you want to translate a web page and you have the URL, you can also use these sites:
o Systran [ http://www.systransoft.com/ ]
o Fagan Finder [ http://www.faganfinder.com/translate/ ]
o AltaVista' Babel Fish [ http://babelfish.altavista.com/ ]
o alphaWorks (IBM) [ http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/aw.nsf/html/mt ]
Remember, don't expect perfect translations because that seldom happens.
* Looking for pages in a specific language? Some search engines (Google™, AlltheWeb, etc.) have an advanced search page that allows you to select the language from the pull-down menu.
* If your search terms contain letters not present in the English alphabet such as "é" or "ü" (example fiancé or München), use Fagan Finder's (Search Engine Ultimate Interface) which allows you to use these special letters in many major search engines. It makes a big difference. A search for Munchen in Google™ gives 570,000 results while for München - "u" with umlaut - gives 51,700,000 - almost 10 times more.
So, let's start searching!
Most of the search tools can be searched using keywords. Web directories and the invisible web databases can also be searched by browsing categories and subcategories.
Start with a popular search engine such as Google™, for example.
Before typing the keywords, take your time and brainstorm relevant words. Create a list of search terms. Write them down. A few seconds of brainstorming could save you minutes or hours of retrieving irrelevant results.
Advice for Searching Better:
* Select the most descriptive words. Brainstorm thoroughly.
* Use at least two keywords.
* Place the most important words or phrases first. Whenever two or more words can appear in exact order, enclose the words with double quotation marks ("word 1 word 2".) Example: "United States." If you use a longer phrase, you will achieve more precise results. With a very long phrase, however, you may get zero results. Some search engines allow you to select the "phrase" option in the pull-down menu on their advanced search page or you can type it in special phrase search box, so you don't have to use quotes.
* When possible, use unique, rare or unusual keywords. The more uncommon / obscure or less frequent the keywords you use are, the fewer and more relevant results you will get.
* Use nouns and objects as keywords. Do not use the so-called "stop words" such as "what," "where," "the," "in," "and," etc. Many search tools ignore them. If you need a stop word to appear in the results, place the implied Boolean operator "+ " in front of that word. The standard Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT (or AND NOT), NEAR, BEFORE, AFTER and the Boolean logic "(parenthesis)", are used to construct complicated queries. The implied Boolean operators "+" and "-" can replace the AND and NOT respectively. An example of Boolean logic is (tips OR tricks) AND ("search engines" OR "web directories"). It will find tips or tricks for search engines or web directories. Check the search tool's tips to see if they accept Boolean operators. For example Google™ does not support full Boolean logic.
* Do not use common terms such as Internet, Web, etc. except for cases that it is necessary. (For example, the query is "searching the web" with quotes.)
* Avoid redundant terms and complicated query structures.
* Choosing the right words for your query is the most important part of web searching. The more specific the search term, the more relevant your results will be and the more likely it is that you will find what you seek. Remember, work smarter not harder.
* The secret to constructing a professional query is to type words you expect to find in the matches.
Note: Some search tools, such as Ask Jeeves allow you to use the so-called "natural language." This means that you can construct a query as a question in plain English, such as "What's the weather in LA?" When you have a specific question in mind, these tools can be helpful.
Checking the Results:
After typing your keywords into the search box press either the "enter" key on the keyboard or, click on the "search," "find" or "go" button on the search tool's homepage. You will receive a list of documents that - hopefully - match your query. If you do not, it may be because some unscrupulous webmasters use unethical methods to cheat the search engines and achieve undeserved, top rankings for their sites. To learn more about this topic, please read my article, "Search Engine Spamming Sucks!"
The results returned, also called "matches" or "hits" will be web pages related to the subject you're searching for, ranked in order of relevancy according to the search tool's algorithm or by date, URL, title, etc.
Each result will contain information such as the title of the page, a short description, the page's URL and the size of the page.
Now you have a tough job. You have to decide which of the search results will take you to the most informative site. Your best bet is to take a look at the title and description of the page. Are they relevant to your search? If yes, open the page. If not, check the next result, by scrolling down on the right side of the browser.
To view a page you have two options:
1. Click on the title of the page - even if says "No title" or "?????". Place the cursor on the page title and the cursor will change to the picture of a hand. Usually the links are in blue and underlined, but often they are not. You can find links in any color, including black, which makes it difficult to recognize a link in text of the same color.
2. The second method is to open the page in a new browser window. Right-click over the title of the result. This produces a pop-up menu. Select "open (link) in new window." After checking the result, close the new browser window. You will still have the first window browser with your search. Some search tools have an option that allows you to open the result in a new window. Don't get used to that, do the right thing: open a new browser window by using the mouse's right-click.
If you use the first method most likely you will not use the back button to go back to the results page, but instead you will simply close the window, losing the search page altogether.
Criteria for Evaluating a Web Resource:
First of all, don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Recently I found a page where it stated that Google™ has about one billion web pages indexed. Well, according to Google™, it indexes 3,307,998,701 web pages. Be careful what you believe. Governmental agencies, educational institutions, libraries and prestigious publications are the most reliable sources of information. Be circumspect with information found on personal sites stored in free hosts.
Six Tips For Evaluating A Site:
1. Is the web site published by an authoritative source? Is the author a recognized expert in the field or subject area?
2. Is the information relevant, credible and accurate? It doesn't hurt to cross check two to three additional, reliable sources.
3. Is the site current and recently updated?
4. Does the site have a professional "look and feel": structure, layout, color scheme, navigation menu(s), etc.?
5. Are there spelling, grammar or punctuation errors?
6. Does the site have contact information such as a postal address, phone or email?
Four Additional Tips:
1. Don't look only at the top ten listings. Excellent results can be found on the top 20, or even top 50 results. This is why customizing the result output at 100 results per page is handy. You don't have to open a next ten-results-per-page page. If you don't find relevant results in the first 20 to 50, reformulate your query or try another search tool - a meta search engine, for example.
2. Check only results that truly looks relevant.
3. Be aware that many search tools list "sponsored links" at the top of their results page. These are not results from the search tool's database. Instead these results are paid listings from corporations that have an interest in providing you with information about their products or services. Studies show that searchers find it hard to distinguish between regular and paid results, so be aware that these exist.
4. To quickly discover if a result is relevant, use the "Find (on This Page)" command of the browser (in the Edit menu) or simultaneously press CTRL and F keys then type one of your important words and press "Find next". You will find the location of that word, and you can see if the page is really relevant or not.
What To Do When You Get TOO MANY Results:
It's common to receive millions of results, often unrelated to the search. To receive more relevant results you'll have to refine or even rethink the search. Here are some ideas to help you refine your search:
* Add one or more descriptive words to your query.
* Use phrases. Enclose two or more words that can appear in exact order within double quotation marks.
* Exclude words you don't want in the results by using the implied Boolean operator "-". Example: the query "red apples" -"yellow apples" will find pages that contain "red apples" - in that order - and will not include pages that contain "yellow apples. " As you see, there is no space between the "-" sign and the word or phrase you want to exclude. There is, however, a space between the "-" sign and the previous word.
* Use the search tool's "advanced search" functions. Limit your search by language, date or by field searching: title, URL, link etc. See the search tool's "search tips" for details.
What To Do When You Get Too Few Or Irrelevant Results:
Sometimes you will get messages like "Your search did not match any documents" or "No pages were found containing your query" or "No results." Other times you may get few or irrelevant results.
What You Should Do:
* Check the spelling of the query. Some search engines automatically detect misspelled words and will show the correct spelling. Just click on the suggested word or words.
* Delete the least important word from the query.
* If you used a search phrases try eliminating the double quotes.
* Use more general terms, alternate spellings, plural forms or synonyms. Recently, "Google™ introduced a new advanced search feature that allows you to not only search for a particular keyword but also for its synonyms. Just place the "~" (tilde) diacritical mark directly in front of the keyword in your search query. For example, "browser ~help" not only searches for "browser help", but also for "browser support", "browser tips" and "browser tutorials."
* You can also check the spelling of the Web page's URL if you typed it directly into the address field of the browser.
* If all the above strategies fail, switch to another search tool, preferably a meta search engine such as ez2Find (formerly ez2www.)
Remember: if you're doing a serious research, consider asking a professional Web searcher to do the job. In a few hours, he may find information that would have taken you days to find.
If you receive the message "The page cannot be displayed" or "Not found" the page has been discontinued.
What you can do:
* If a page that doesn't display is not the site's home page you can use the following trick. Cut the Web address of the page starting on the right-hand side and stopping at every forward slash (/). Let's say that the URL of a dead link is www.domainname/archive/article_1.html. First delete "article_1.html" and click "enter." Hopefully you will see the "archive" page and the "article 1." If not, also delete "archive" and click "enter." Hopefully you will get the home page and there will still be an option "archive."
* When you cannot see a page, use the "cached" function of some search engines, such as Google™. Go back to the results list and click on the "cached" link near the result. You will get a snapshot of the page stored in Google™'s index. Keep in mind that Google™ does not cache all the Web pages in its index and cached pages are often not up-to-date. Wayback Machine can also show you previous versions of a Web page. Simply type the URL and than select a date in the results list. Keep in mind that there are a limited number of URLs indexed in the Wayback Machine's database. Be aware that sometimes receiving few results means that ONLY a few results matched your query. Switch to a meta search engine and I guarantee you will receive better results.
Sometimes a search tool simply will not work. Why? Because it may be disabled or undergoing changes. Try again later. Other times you might receive messages like "503 Server is busy" or "Too many users. " Check back later. For U.S. residents, early morning and late night are the least busy times.
Qualities Of A Good Web Searcher:
* Patience. You can find what you're looking for in ten seconds, ten minutes or never. Keep in mind that searching the Web can be a very time consuming operation.
* Persistence. Don't be scared of millions of results. Don't give up too fast. Searching the Web is a process of trial and error.
* Good memory. When conducting extensive research, you'll have to remember all your previous search queries so you know what terms you have already tried. Write them down - it's easier.
* Good organizational skills. Plan your strategy ahead of time and stick with the plan.
* Creativity. Select the best words for your query.
* Decisiveness. Learn to quickly recognize relevant results in the search engine's result page. Don't waste your time with search tools or strategies that don't work.
* Learn and accept the Web's limitations. Sometimes you cannot find the information because there is no information available on the Web related to your search. But this happens very rarely. Most of the time, the problem is not a lack of information but rather being overwhelmed by relevant results. That is if you know where and how to search.
And yes, practice, practice, practice. The more you search, the more you'll know and soon you will be scoring the most relevant results in the timeliest manner.
A final piece of advice: use bookmarks or favorites.
When visiting a page that you think you might want to visit again, it's wise to save its web address (URL) in your "bookmarks" or "favorites" folder in your browser or - much better - in a Web-based bookmarks manager - such as MyBookmarks.com - which allows you to access your bookmarks from any computer at any location. (I have NO connection with MyBookmarks.com)
The next time you want to visit that page, you simply open the saved bookmark instead of searching again or typing the page's URL.
Be aware that in time you can collect thousands of bookmarks. Be smart and organize them in thoughtfully labeled categories and subcategories.
Last but not least, back-up your bookmarks just like all the other important information you back-up from your computer.
Rest assured that finding information on the Web is never a question of luck. Instead it is the result of a thorough understanding of how search tools work, combined with mastering the art of creating a targeted search query. Searching the Web is not difficult. Like any task, you simply must press the right buttons.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
